


Fractal The Future Part II

by Fruipit, JessicaX



Series: Fractal The Futureverse [2]
Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Accidental Cuddling, Accidental Incest, F/F, Incest, Love Triangles, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Parent/Child Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-01
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2020-10-04 15:40:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 64,430
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20473439
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fruipit/pseuds/Fruipit, https://archiveofourown.org/users/JessicaX/pseuds/JessicaX
Summary: After a prolonged run-in with the teenage version of her mother, Anna McFly has finally returned to her proper time period. But not everything is exactly as it once was. Everything is the same but also different. Can she adjust or is she going to screw up the present now that she's fixed the past?  [Frui/Jess collab!]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Back To The Future and related concepts © Robert Zemeckis/Bob Gale/Universal. Frozen and related concepts © Diznee. This story, plot, and prose © Jessica X and Fruipit. Artwork ©Captnducky. All rights reserved.
> 
> WARNING: This story will contain coarse language, incestuous romance between a mother and daughter, and some smut. Also contains Punzanna (Rapunzel/Anna) content. If you have a problem with any of those things, DO NOT READ.
> 
> AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is where the plot begins to diverge a lot more from that of the films. Part I followed the movie very closely, but the many little differences made it impossible to stick that close to the Part II script – or close to it at all. So we went where the writing took us. Sorry for it taking so long for us to get it out there to you, but we hope you are still along for the ride!

The sky flashed. The lightning struck.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment. All ten fingers clamped down around the steering wheel as Anna accelerated toward the thick cable strung between the lampposts, sparks erupting all around the DeLorean. The flux capacitor was ready and only needed the nuclear reaction to power the time-jump. And it was getting it; no sooner had Doc connected two wires at the last possible moment was he blown back from the force of the electricity racing through the connection into a shrub.

Anna McFly squeezed her eyes shut, praying she made it home.

…And then suddenly she was coming to a stop, skidding sideways into a bus stop bench. It made an awful screeching din as it was uprooted from the ground and sent flying back into the nearest building, cracking a single brick with its corner before clattering to the ground.

That could be worried about later. For now… she had to look around and hold her breath.

Cafe 80s. GameStop. Verizon.

She was in 2015. It worked. Despite all the odds, she and Doc had got the stupid time machine working and sent her back to the future.

"FUCK YEAH!" she screamed, slamming the heel of her hand into the steering wheel. "I didn't die!"

Opening the door to the car, she was seconds from jumping out and doing a happy little dance when a familiar van came tearing down the street. _Oh no._ She didn't die, but someone else would, and soon, if she didn't get a wriggle on.

But it was okay. She could do this. They were from out of town. There were multiple shortcuts she could use to get there before they did. She could _do_ this. Twisting the key in the ignition, the engine roared to life. Briefly.

"No, no, no!" Anna screamed, whacking the steering wheel with her hand. She tried again; once more, the engine sputtered, and died. Why? Of all the times for an engine failure…

She didn't have a car. She didn't even have a skateboard. As she took off running down the street, she had only one thing: desperation.

Never before in her life had Anna run that fast. She lost sight of the van, of course, but she knew Dell Valley like the back of her hand. She was heading straight for Twin Pines Mall.

But one lone teenage girl couldn't outmatch angry armed nationalists in a van, and as she rounded the hill that led to the mall, she knew she was too late. No time to call out, no time to warn Doc the way she had hoped. Only enough time to see bullets raining down onto his chest, blowing him backwards and onto the pavement from the far side of the parking lot.

Before she could even cry out, she heard her other self scream. That was eerie; even worse was watching a radiation suit-clad Anna come around the corner of the truck, shaking with anger and grief. The newly-arrived Anna shared the rage, and could only look on helplessly as she peeled out in the DeLorean. She wanted to do something else, but what could she do? If she interrupted, it would be one of those paradox things. No… all she could do was wait until the flashes of light and fire-trails gave proof of her disappearance.

Then she saw the nationalists firing off the rocket from their launcher, which streaked for the car… and instead blew a huge crater in the ground in front of them. Unable to swerve in time, they drove straight into the crater, totalling the van and probably knocking everyone inside unconscious.

"Good," she managed to mumble through her veil of tears. Hastily, she started running down the grassy hill, tripped, and rolled the rest of the way down. Then she hopped up to sprint for Doc's side.

It only took a few seconds for her to reach him. Collapsing on the pavement next to him, she brought a hand up to press at his face. "Doc…" she whispered. But no answer came.

Goddammit. Barking out a rough sob, she removed her hand. It had other things to do, like wipe at her tear-streaked face. God life wasn't fair. There was a cough – and it must have been her. After all, she was completely alone now…

"Anna…?"

Fuck, she could even hear his voice…

_"Anna!"_

Her hands were pulled roughly away, and Anna found herself staring at a very surprised, very _not-dead_ Doc Pabbie. His eyes were wide and concerned, and he looked as though he were expecting Anna to say something. But she was entirely mute. Finally letting go of her hands, he brought his own up to his chest, slowly peeling away the lapels of the hazard suit. There was something underneath, and when Anna realised what it was, she felt she could have sobbed again.

"A bullet-proof vest," she croaked. "How… how did you know?"

He looked away at that question, lined features a little ashamed. "Back in '85, your video. And then your insistence to tell me something. Even if you didn't specify… it really doesn't take a genius to figure out something truly heinous would befall me." She looked at him, and he smiled. "Also… an elf left me this."

And from his pocket he pulled out a letter, weathered and yellow. Anna recognised it immediately. She had left her plan B, which had felt as pathetic a backup as a Plan Z when she left it; had he truly found it? She was a little surprised he hadn't just thrown it out.

"The letter," she breathed, eyes streaming so much that she could barely see it. "Oh… it's ripped down the middle…"

"I did start to tear it up when I first found it," he sighed. "No man should know too much about his own destiny. But then I figured…" A little shrug. "What the hell?"

Laughing, she threw herself into a hug, gripping him tightly – full of so much more happiness than the last time she had. The man hugged her back, even though his laughter was punctuated by a groan of pain. After a minute, she pulled back to ask if he was alright.

"Just fine," he grunted, pushing upward and onto his feet as they gathered up their things and prepped the truck to drive away. Olaf had to be coaxed out from underneath, but eventually he responded to his master. "Though I'm sure I'll have some beautiful bruises from the impact of the bullets, at least they didn't puncture."

"Right; guess that would still hurt, even with the vest. But… I'm so gla-"

"Please, Anna," he chuckled softly, though his eyes were full of an almost grandfatherly affection as he opened the door for her to hop into the passenger's seat. "I'm fine. But I do believe we have some debriefing to do."

"Right… guess that's true." Taking out her phone to call the police about the terrorists, she hesitantly muttered, "But I'm just so damn glad to be home."

* * *

CHAPTER 1

By the time they got back to Lyon Estates, the non-functional DeLorean stowed safely back in the confines of the truck, Doc looked quite a bit more sober than he had after cheating death. She had debriefed him about her adventure into the past, understanding that the details were much fresher to her than to him, leaving out some of the more risqué parts that he certainly wouldn't have approved of – but still filling in more details now that they could freely discuss them instead of worrying about past-Doc knowing too much. She felt a blush rising to her face as she recounted what had happened at the dance, leaving out the grisly details from their romp in Elsa's car. Of course, he was there, and knew about the attraction from Elsa's perspective. He did a very good job of not blaming Anna for everything that had happened in 1985, but he certainly didn't look pleased about the turn of events.

"I suppose I should have warned you about the Butterfly Effect when I was doing my demonstration in present day," he sighed. "Well, you're here now, so at least our attempts to correct the issue went off without a hitch…"

"Yeah… at least there's that."

Silence fell thick, and quite uncomfortable. She was sure he could – and probably already had – filled in the gaps that she'd left out. Bone-weary exhaustion was setting in, along with some sadness. The near-miss of the universe ending was now minuscule when compared with the reality of losing her Elsa. The one she'd actually come to know. It would be hard, she thought, adjusting to her new-old life here… but she didn't have any choice. Might as well start getting used to it.

With nothing else worth sharing – at least, not that night – Anna bid Doc farewell as he pulled alongside the kerb in front of her house. Creeping inside, she half-expected to see her mother still waiting up for her, but there was no one. When Anna finally got to her bedroom, she collapsed on the covers, still fully dressed. It only felt like it was about 10:30 – which it was, according to her body.

It still didn't take very long to drift off, despite apprehension for the coming day filling her dreams. But she needed sleep or dealing with reality would be impossible.

~ o ~

When she awoke the next morning, Anna's bones ached from the awkward position in which she slept. At some point, her shoes had fallen off so at least she didn't dirty up her sheets, and she had thrown off her vest before crashing. Could have been worse. Her clock radio had probably been blaring out an old Huey Lewis song for almost a full two minutes before she sat up.

Was it a nightmare? She had to at least address that possibility as she rubbed at her face, stood up shakily. She was definitely starving; she hadn't eaten much last night… whether or not last night was the same night Adult Hans wrecked her dad's car, or the Enchantment Under The Sea dance. So she decided to turn off her brain and go get something to eat.

She only got as far as the living room.

It took a few moments to figure out why she felt an impending sense of disorientation, and when she did, it hit her like a freight train. Everything was different. The bare layout of the house was the same, including the furniture placement and one or two of the art pieces, but the furniture itself was completely different; much more high-end than anything her family ever owned. Some of the uglier paintings were gone, replaced with more tasteful, simple ones, or family photos that looked much less depressing than the ones Anna remembered. The wallpaper was gone, replaced with an elegant coat of paint that couldn't be more than a few years old. And sitting at the breakfast table were John and Wendy…

Except… since when did John wear a suit this early in the morning? Or at all?! And since when did they have grapefruit and muesli on the table instead of Pop Tarts and Froot Loops? Not only that, but there was also a quiche that definitely looked freshly-made, with a few wedges already cut out.

"Uhhhh," Wendy began when she saw Anna pause, staring at her siblings. She probably looked as confused as she felt. "Are you okay, Anna?"

"What- what's all this?" she asked as she slid into a barstool, staring at them. Wendy stared back.

"Breakfast."

"In a suit?!"

At that, John gave a light chuckle. "You know I've been pulling long days at the office," he said.

"Oh, yeah. Hah. Right. _The office._"

Obviously this wasn't exactly the same world that she had left. Her brother was, at least mildly, successful – at any rate, he no longer seemed to work at the local Pizza Planet. When Wendy stood up from her seat, the differences with her also became obvious; Anna hadn't noticed, but her glasses actually looked… nice, expensive trendy frames. Her hair wasn't an oily, limp mess; instead, it bobbed about her chin in tight curls. Definitely with a curling iron – but they'd never been able to afford stupid luxuries like that.

Maybe she needed to call Doc and have a conversation about that Butterfly Effect thing. Because she had a feeling somewhere, _something_ she had messed up had made a huge difference.

She was just about to ask where her parents were when she heard the front door open. Mr McFly's voice rang through the house, though it was missing some of the reediness. Elsa's voice came through with a reply, and she sounded different, too.

And then they rounded the corner and Anna fell off her seat.

Her dad was in the lead, reaching out to lay his keys on a sideboard in the hallway. He looked to be in great shape, lacking the potbelly of the father she knew, and his grey-streaked blonde hair was in a rugged "rock" style that hung just past his ears instead of slicked back with oil to get it out of the way. On top of that, the pale blue button-up was open at the collar to show off a fine gold chain over his broad, toned chest.

"I… what… you…"

"What's the matter, honey?" he chuckled at her with a slight smile, reaching down to pull her back to her feet. It was still a gentle hand, but a lot more self-assured than he had ever been with her before; the grip was firm, his biceps more than enough to haul her upward.

"What are you wearing? What is _anybody_ wearing?!" she burst out, knowing how stupid she sounded.

"Sweetheart," her mom sighed as she rounded her husband. "Did you fall out of bed and hit your noggin' again?"

And then she saw her. Not her mother… not frumpy Mrs. McFly. This was _Elsa_, aged thirty more years. Blonde hair in a much more tasteful braid than the younger model, but still braided, still well-maintained and elegant. She was a little plumper, but definitely not out of shape; this Elsa had shed her pregnancy pounds in the name of keeping healthy. Once she pulled her sunglasses off, she saw that there were still slight crows feet at the corners of her eyes, but not the enormous bags that her mother had always been sporting.

This was a woman who _loved_ life rather than suffered through it. And she was beautiful.

"Mom?" she breathed softly, completely confused.

"Ohhh, sweetie," she whispered, leaning forward to kiss her forehead. When Anna froze solid to feel the lips there, Elsa did draw back to look at her for a moment, curious. "Sweetie?"

"Wh-what?"

Then Elsa's expression changed completely – as if she were seeing her for the first time. _"Oh."_

However, they didn't have much time to exchange that look, or for Anna to respond. Not with the family hovering – and Anna had caught the attention of everyone in the house with her glaringly unusual behaviour.

"By the way, Anna," Wendy was saying behind her, prompting her to whirl around in a circle and look at her sister. "We're not your answering service; that Jennifer Punzel dropped by while you were still asleep and asked what happened to you last night."

"Oh, that's right," Kristoff was saying as he sat down and drew half a grapefruit toward himself. "Wasn't last night supposed to be the big trip up to the lake?"

Anna frowned at him. It _was_, but… "Yeah, but the car was totalled, Dad."

Immediately, everyone sprung into action. There were cries of, "what?!" and "the car!" as everyone bundled out the door. Anna was swept up with the movement, pushed along until soft hands came from behind, securing her.

"Careful," her mother murmured. Anna swallowed and nodded, trying not to pay any mind to the butterflies. This wasn't fair! She was supposed to have left this Elsa behind, back in 1985. She was supposed to get her alcoholic, depressed mother. She was supposed to _help her_.

Anna wasn't given time to think on that, though, because soon she was peering out the fly-screen. "Anna Victoria McFly. Don't scare us like that," Kristoff chastised – which was strange enough on its own! If she'd still been sitting, she probably would have fallen from her chair again when Kristoff leaned forward, and called out to the man kneeling in front of the bumper of a distinctly not-totalled car, one that was much nicer than she was used to seeing out front of her house. "Now, Hans, I want to see two coats of wax on that car."

What? Hans? What was that lowlife doing to their car- and _Victoria?_ That wasn't her middle name! Everything was too weird!

Even as Anna looked out, she felt Elsa step closer behind her. "He's lucky he could even get a job after that night," she said, voice low. "A little ironic that it's with cars… since he seems to have so much trouble with them."

Kristoff gave a light chuckle, then moved away, saying something about saving the grapefruit. Elsa didn't move, which meant that Anna couldn't move. Coughing, she cleared her voice. "What night?" she asked softly. Elsa's hands tightened briefly on her arms.

"Oh, you know. You were there, right?"

A spasm of electricity shot through her stomach when she heard those words. What could her mother mean? It didn't make any sense… unless…

"I don't have time to finish it," her father's voice cut through her thoughts. "I'm going to be late for my flight. Just wrap it up."

"Okay, okay, Dad," Wendy sighed. "But I hope you're all packed and ready to go, because I'm meeting Craig for lunch and I don't want to stand him up again."

"Okay, okay, slavedriver." As he passed Anna, he did a brief double-take – seemingly when he saw her hair in its semi-ornate bun. Then he glanced over at his wife, who nodded the barest amount. "Hmm… maybe I should cancel this stop on the tour."

"Tour?" Anna rasped, clutching at the sideboard for stability. Just then, as if he had been waiting for the cue, Hans burst into the house carrying a large cardboard box.

"Guys! Mr. McFly, I think this is it! The proofs for your new one!"

"Proofs? New one?" Anna felt dizzy. Her head was spinning, hands shaking. She was powerless to stop when Elsa pushed her forward again, back towards the kitchen.

"Don't you dare cancel," Elsa said, smiling fondly at him. "You've worked too hard. Leave the… domestics… to me."

Anna had a very strong feeling that Elsa was talking about her, and the panic from mere seconds ago rose up again. There was no room – or time – to make any sort of escape. Kristoff ripped open the box, eyes lighting up as he lifted something from inside of it. And it was…

A book?

"Wow…" he said, giving a low whistle. "Damn, that illustrator is good." Passing it over, Anna's mouth went dry. Her father's name was on the cover. This was his book! So he had continued his passion, after all! This Kristoff certainly did seem happier.

That wasn't what caused the lump rising in her throat, though. Splashed across the cover was the title, jagged future-font displaying the words _Blast to the Past_. Below that was a girl, clambering from a very stereotypical alien aircraft.

_Oh shit._

A loud beep broke the silence, and Kristoff hissed. "Sh…oot," he said, glancing at Anna. "I better get going if I don't wanna miss my flight. Hon, are you sure…?"

It was Elsa's turn to smile. She finally let go of Anna, moving over to her husband to place a peck at the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure. Go enlighten the world, or whatever."

He gave a nod and a smile, eyes flicking between Anna and her mother before he turned away. "Wendy? Are you ready to get going?"

"Psh, yeah, Dad. Just waiting on you. If you moved any slower you'd be a glacier."

So out they finally went. John went along with them, kissing the top of his mother's head in a way that made her sigh and roll her eyes; he wasn't that much taller than her. There were a few scattered goodbyes, but Anna didn't participate; she was too shell-shocked.

Then she and Elsa were alone in the house. For a few seconds, her mother remained at the open front door, watching Hans' auto detailing truck trail away and John and Wendy's cars pulling off toward bigger and better things. Then she gently pushed the door closed.

"Mom? I… are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she sighed, turning back to smile at her. Her eyes held an odd mixture of excitement, dread, and curiosity. "But… I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about… _Tori.__"_

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh WOW, what a huge response to chapter one! We're so glad you all are happy the story is back and that you like what we've dropped so far. This chapter might answer a lot of the questions some of you have had up until now.

What did her mother just say? Swallowing hard, Anna tried to back up more but only ended up almost sitting in the quiche. "I d-don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Anna. I thought I taught you better than to lie to your parents. Especially about something this important." Her lips were smiling, but there was very real anxiety in her eyes. Both pale, smooth hands were wringing over each other, even if the rest of her looked more or less calm.

"I… what am I lying about?" she hedged. "You tell me."

A long sigh later, Elsa approached the table and pulled out one of the chairs and sat. "Thing is, even after all this time, I'm not quite sure that I'm not certifiably insane. But assuming I'm in my right mind… I know that I somehow met the you of today thirty years ago."

That was enough. Anna collapsed to the floor again, managing to catch the edge of one chair so that she didn't go down too hard. Elsa didn't bother to help her up this time; she merely waited, hands folded patiently on the tabletop. This was not a conversation Anna wanted to have. Just last night, her mother's lips had been places that no one else's had ever been.

But now she had another problem. Now that she was more awake, a war waged inside Anna's head: scenes from the past that she knew, had grown up experiencing… and this current world that was, somehow, true. The memories of Elsa smelling of vodka and two-day-old sweat as she lay on the couch, kids fighting about some stupid thing, played in tandem with the newly-minted scenes of Elsa laughing and smiling as they went out – the whole family – on a holiday. The same day, the same year. Only now Elsa wasn't plagued by depression and insecurity and alcoholism. Her father wasn't forced to slave away in a dull desk job while Hans had the entire weekend off. Her sister wasn't picked on and her brother wasn't dismissive; all around, there seemed to be a lot less McFly family depression.

What could Anna even say to that? _'Yes, Mom. Thirty years ago, on the night of your prom, you ate out your own kid and she knew and she liked it.'_ There was no way she could ever say such a thing to her own mother… even if she looked more like a TV MILF than the woman who had raised her.

She was still cringing at the word "MILF" having run through her head when said MILF said in a firm tone, "Anna Victoria McFly, you will tell me everything. _Now._"

Never in her life had Elsa spoken to Anna like that. Well. Never in her former life. She'd always been too drunk or hungover to dole out punishment, or else she had been snapping in a fit of rage. This was a stern mother who was a hundred per cent _sure_ this conversation needed to happen and was waiting for it to progress. Eyes wet – but not from sadness, she couldn't have been able to explain these tears if she'd tried – Anna picked something else to focus on. Something she could manage for now.

"That's not my name."

Elsa snorted. "Of course it is. I named you."

"N-no, you're wrong. My name is Anna Lorraine McFly and whatever you think you're talking about, you're wrong about this."

"Anna Lorraine? We did consider that…" But Elsa was too distracted by other things to focus too deeply on that. "Alright. You really do want to do this the hard way. Very well; I can understand why."

Then she rose from the table, and Anna tried to scramble backwards. "Wh-what are you gonna do?!"

"Do? I'm going to get something from my room." The woman was utterly puzzled by that reaction. Anna had been expecting her to kick at her, or throw something. She would never actually attack her directly or with intent to cause real harm, but that didn't mean she had never lashed out with pure anger before. But this Elsa seemed to think Anna was overreacting for no reason… and maybe she was.

"I… um… what are you going to get?" But she didn't answer, instead merely walking down the hallway. "Mom?"

By the time she returned, Anna had dragged herself up to sit in one of the chairs. Her mother was carrying an old shoebox. As Anna looked on, puzzled, she knelt in front of the chair and began to take off Anna's sneakers.

"What the f-"

"If I put this on," she whispered as she tugged off the underlying sock, "and it doesn't fit… we'll never speak of this again. I promise." Then she lifted out…

A neon pink high heel.

_Shit. _Anna recognised it. Of course she did; she'd worn it – and its twin – the night previous. She knew she had lost them, but never thought that Elsa would find and keep them over years and years.

Immediately, Anna jerked her foot away. "Eww, I don't wanna wear a crusty… _fashion fail_ from your childhood," she said. She was trying to sound simply dismissive, but there was real fear and desperation in her eyes. No. She couldn't- she hadn't been able to control herself with the younger version of her mother, and it had probably changed her in ways she could never know. But if she verified what her mother was thinking… well, it would probably _destroy_ her. Months of therapy before she would even be able to _begin_ explaining herself. How could she do that to her?

"It's just a shoe, Anna," Elsa said pragmatically. "What's so bad about trying it on?" Of course, there was nothing bad about it. But _that_ shoe…

"Stop, please…" Anna said, voice much higher than she had intended.

Elsa looked up at her, eyes pleading. From that position, Anna had a very strong recollection of her being at her feet for a very different reason. Jumping up, she very narrowly missed kneeing her mother in the eye.

"Anna-"

"Stop!" Anna cried. The tears were back, and this time, they probably weren't going to go away. "You don't… you don't want this. You don't want to know…"

She heard the shoe drop, and Elsa exhale through her nose. She didn't speak for a second, but when she did, Anna just wanted to collapse again. Sob her heart out because Jesus Christ it was _thirty years ago_ for her mom, and not even twenty-four hours for her.

"You've worn this shoe before," Elsa told her softly. "And this is the first time you've ever reacted like that. I don't need you to put it on… I just wanted…" Anna sobbed, a horrid, choked noise. She couldn't look at Elsa. "I was just trying to make a point," that soft, gentle, calming voice went on as Anna shook and wanted to escape, to do anything other than to be here, forced to confront the consequences of her actions.

"Well, you made it! You remember having some horrible shoes, so… so what? What do you want from me now?"

The room was quiet, save for Anna's ragged breathing, for a few moments. Elsa put the shoe back into the box with its mate and set it on the table. Then she stood and moved to stand next to Anna.

"So… I don't know how this worked for you," she whispered softly. "Kristoff and I have talked about it many times, and… tried to figure out how this happened. What even to _call_ what happened! Of course, he spins theory after theory; astral projection, time travel. They all sound crazy."

At 'time travel', Anna's eye had twitched, but she tried not to otherwise let on. "Still don't know what you're talking about."

"Alright. Let's say you don't; that I'm making everything up. I definitely sound like the crazy one now. So I'll just say one thing and then go to my meeting. Take it or leave it." Taking a deep breath, she went on, "I love you, Anna."

"What?" Her hand clutched for something to hold onto, heart leaping into her throat. All she found was the back of the chair.

"You… seem surprised. Haven't I told you I love you before? You're my daughter, Anna. I'm always going to love you."

"No," she breathed, the kind words ripping her to shreds.

Maybe Elsa realised that she'd gone too far; just pushed Anna over the edge. She stopped speaking, instead moving around to stand in front of her daughter. Anna couldn't see much through the tears, but she still tried to turn away. Never had she felt so bare.

"Anna… please look at me," Elsa said. Her voice was so soft. Still, Anna didn't want to. She wanted to run and hide… but she was powerless. She stopped squirming, letting Elsa – her mother – wipe away her tears. The sight of Elsa crying was not as surprising as Anna thought it would be.

"I love you," Elsa said again, and this time, Anna only flinched a little – the sniffle didn't help. "I love you in whatever way you choose to interpret it."

Wha-?

"I think there was a reason I was drawn to you as a teenager," Elsa went on with a slight smile. "It seemed only natural that I would name my second daughter after the woman who taught me to love." Then, her face drew together, and eyes darkening. "But then you grew up, and when you were about thirteen, I realised you didn't just _look like_ the first girl I-"

She cut herself off. Anna was curious – what was she going to say? Then her mind ran through the possibilities, and she decided it was better that Elsa hadn't finished her thought.

"You _were_ her. You were becoming her, right in front of my eyes. Again, a lot of 'Outer Limits' scenarios came to mind, that you were… both possessed by the same spirit, clones… but it was you, Tori."

"No," Anna whispered, pushing a shaking hand into her mouth. "Don't call me that. Please!"

"The ways you moved, talked, ate. Kristoff mentioned that you ordered something called a 'Monster' at Lou's Café – which didn't matter back then, other than to sound funny. Not until recently, when he noticed you slam down cans of that disgusting concoction like they're going out of style, did he think anything of it. So many little details that just didn't add up about Tori, until we saw that our little girl was turning into her."

Anna's voice broke as she wiped at her own eyes now. "Mom, you have to stop this. It's… I d-don't know, I'm not ready! And I can't think…"

"You're probably wearing the purple underwear right now, aren't you? The Victoria's Secret underwear? I know what that means now, of course; back then, I had never seen anything from there because we didn't have them in Dell Valley. I thought it was some kind of private family joke." A dark chuckle. "And now, I suppose it is, in a way."

"Shut up! God, stop making it harder to… to just…"

Elsa's smile disappeared. This would be the point at which her old mother would have shouted, but instead, this Elsa only said in somewhat a sharper tone, "To just lie about it? To cover this up and pretend it never happened? That's what I've been doing for thirty years. Even harder the past few. How did you think I would handle the first girl I kissed vanishing, then popping up as a member of my family a couple of decades later?"

She was right. Unequivocally, painfully right about everything. And that was when it struck Anna with the force of a freight train: it was _her fault._ All of it was her own damn fault.

"Oh god…" she whispered, on the verge of collapsing. What kind of person did that to their family? Who knowingly did what she did with her mother?

She wanted to vomit. She wanted to cry and sob and scream. She wanted to go back in time and change it all again. Doc had to be able to fix this. He had to. It was in his name, for Chrissakes – _Doctor_ Pabbie, right? There had to be something they could…

But she couldn't do any of that. Instead, all she could do was mumble out a wet, "I'm sorry…"

She no longer expected Elsa to yell. She was expecting a grounding. A time out at the very least, with no dessert for the rest of her miserable existence while they all tried to cope with exactly how royally she'd fucked everyone up. She expected Elsa to walk away. Maybe even kick her out of the house; out of the family, forever.

She did not expect to be pulled into a hug, soft shushes whispered into her ear. It only made her want to cry harder, and to her surprise, Elsa encouraged it.

"It's okay, sweetheart," she said. "Let it go."

So Anna, lifting her hands to wrap around her mother, clinging tighter than she could ever remember, just wept. It took a few minutes. In fact, at one point Anna got up to run away, but realised she had nowhere to go, so she only threw herself onto the couch. After a few minutes, she felt Elsa sit down next to her, curling her arm around her shoulders to give more comfort that she couldn't handle.

"I'm sorry!" she cried out in anguish into the throw pillow. "Mom! I'm so sorry, I- I d-didn't- I don't know, I don't know!"

"Shhhh," Elsa soothed her, petting up and down her back. "I know. I could see it in your eyes back then; I just didn't know what I was looking at."

"What?" she prompted through a sob. When Elsa didn't respond, she prompted, "W-what did you see?"

"I saw a very scared girl who didn't know what to do with her new feelings. At the time, I thought it was the same as my feelings; that this was new, and we were both women. All that. But once I realised you were Tori, it all fell into place."

They were going to have to talk about it, apparently. And now, Anna knew that feigning ignorance would get them nowhere. "I didn't mean for it to happen… I didn't! I don't know why…"

"Well. As slim as resources were in 1985, in this modern age we have more open to us." Pulling out her phone, it took her only a minute or so to pull up an article; evidently, she'd had it saved for a while. Then she handed it over.

"'Genetic Sexual Attraction'?" she read out. "What is this…?"

"Just read."

The entire article was fairly short, and reasonably self-explanatory. When she finished, Anna gave a watery snort. "You can't believe everything you read on the 'Net, Mom," she said. "This sounds like… I dunno, crazy sauce."

"It's true," Elsa said. "Humans are more likely to be attracted to people similar to them – similar skin colour, or facial structure. Eye colour. Even things like education. And, statistically speaking, who are we most similar to?"

"…Family."

This was so wrong, though. Couldn't her mother see that? Anna turned to her, mouth opening to say something, anything, when Elsa preempted her.

"When I first met you, I felt this gravitational pull. Like with no one I ever had. And I probably came off very strong and obsessed, but back then I was questioning myself, during a time where it was strongly discouraged. I was scared. And then you literally tripped into my life, and there was, for me, an immediate… attraction."

How could she be so calm about this? But as Anna stared up at her mother, she couldn't see her mother. She saw Elsa. Dorky, fun… scared of herself Elsa. Terrified, just like she had been that first night, of doing the wrong thing, or saying the wrong thing.

A familiar sense of shame welled up in Anna when she realised… she still wanted to kiss her. Today was evidently a crying day, at any rate. In a thin voice, she finally said, "I… felt it too…"

"Obviously," Elsa said with a soft, uncertain laugh. "Or else what happened in the car would never have happened. I'm… not saying that was right, but considering I didn't know who you were, and I was probably very different at that time… of course I couldn't help myself."

Her lip trembled. "B-but Mom… I don't want to…" Her throat closed up, and she gripped her elbows so tightly she was leaving marks.

"Do that with your father, or your sister and brother? I know. Neither do I; and I don't want to with you, either."

At that, Anna's head finally shot up and she looked at her properly again. She looked a little sad, but firm in her resolve. "You… don't?"

"No. You're a very beautiful woman, Anna, and I'll never forget that night, but… you are my daughter. I have to take care of you – and not in that way."

Was that a joke? It was; Elsa was making a joke about them hooking up. Anna let out a blast of highly inappropriate laughter, which prompted her mother to pet over her cheek, smiling. Then Anna stared down at the floor, scraping together a few thoughts.

"You… m-must be wondering how I could… why I would ever let you…"

That made her drop her hand. It was just too uncomfortable to talk about while they were touching. "I have. But I decided a long time ago, after a lot of emotional ups and downs, that whatever reason you had… you either had no choice, or you felt it was right at the time. Because I _felt_ you in that moment."

Anna's mind flashed back to the moment in question. Never in her life had she experienced a climax like that. And somehow, Elsa could keep talking about it as if it was 'old news'… because it was. Thirty years ago.

"Mom, I really am sorry," she blubbered, but she forced herself to get the words out. "You came on so strong, and at first I was disgusted, b-but the more time went on, the less disgusted I felt and the more just… I dunno, grateful? B-because you were finally looking at me, finally giving me the love I wish you had before, even if it was in a fucked-up way!"

"Language," she murmured, but it was a lot less hostile than her old mother would have admonished her. Speaking of which: "What do you mean, 'finally'? Haven't I raised you with love since you were a baby? Even a few years ago when I realised who you were, I still kissed your forehead goodnight, still cheered you on. The minute I saw me pulling away was hurting you, I knew I had to… to grin and bear it. And it got easier the more I did it, to just love my daughter and… put the past in a box on a shelf."

Anna's heart twisted in agony and she was about to protest, to demand why Elsa had the gall to call what little love she gave her enough. However, she forced herself to calm down and really look at her mother. She had to remind herself that this Elsa was vastly different from the woman she had been forced to live with her whole life. Anna took a deep breath and could catch hints of the familiar perfume that her mother never wore anymore. She could see the love shining clear as day in Elsa's glacial pools, eyes that were bright and full of life, rather than tired and glazed over with a mix of drunkenness and depression.

She felt a furious jealousy rise towards the Anna of this reality. Of fucking course, the Elsa she had fallen so hard for would end up being the mother Anna had always desperately wished for.

But… _she_ was the Anna of this reality, too. In her mind she could see both her mom – drunk, depressed, unhappy woman that she was – and the real Elsa. One always laughing and smiling; radiating light. This Elsa had no idea the kind of person she could have become – she did become, previously. She had no idea how meeting Anna had changed her, for the better.

And suddenly, Anna didn't feel nearly as bad. She gazed at her mother, eyes clear for the first time since they'd been alone. Yes, this was all her fault, and yes, she did fuck up, tremendously. But there was no denying it: her family, her life, was better for her having travelled into the past. Kristoff was stronger, Elsa was happier, her siblings were flourishing. And, if what they'd said earlier about going up to the lake held any weight, then Anna's own love life seemed to have been significantly more successful.

"You- when I was growing up, you liked to drink. A lot. And eventually you didn't do much of anything else. Dad was a loser- no he was," she added when it looked like Elsa was going to interrupt. "You didn't like Jennifer. It sounded like you hated her, and it felt like you hated me. The last time we hugged, I was _prepubescent_."

Of course Elsa couldn't understand. In her mind, the very idea of being that person was ridiculous to her. But she further proved she was not the woman Anna had grown up alternately lamenting and despising with her next reaction.

"I'm not sure what you mean. When did we ever behave that way? And we- I've always liked Jennifer. She's a sweet girl, even if I did notice… well, the reason you started dating her."

"The reason?" Anna mumbled distantly.

"Her hair. When you first met, she had that long blond braid…" Elsa hefted her own, which was hanging down her shoulder and resting on her chest. "Well, knowing who you would later become, I wondered if you had a 'type' without realising it."

That sent a weird thrill through Anna's stomach. No. She couldn't believe that; she wouldn't. But then she had another thought that she desperately snatched at. "W-well, what if the reason I liked you back in the 80s was because of Punzie's braid? Did you ever think of that?"

"No, I hadn't," she laughed softly. The smile was real, the amusement was real. Even if she was a little sad and anxious, her mother was actually enjoying talking to her. "But I guess that's likely, too. At least you're admitting you liked me."

"Of course I did! You were so cute, and hot, and s-sweet, and… and you were all over me, but not in a gross way, just… just because you seemed to think I was cool! Or 'rad' or whatever! And I'd never had anyone like me that much, not even Punzie, even if she really digs me she never…" But her voice faded when she realised she was babbling. Again.

And Elsa was still just smiling at her. It was soft and open, and even though it had been less than a day, Anna felt her craving the woman she'd left behind in 1985. She wanted her smile and her scent and her touch.

Her… lips.

Fuck.

The whole past week, Anna's concern had been to get her parents together while fending off Elsa's advances. She'd failed the second one, but she had thought – had _hoped_ – that she'd come off relatively unscathed. That even though Elsa loved her, was in love with her, it was okay because she didn't know what they were to each other.

But now Anna had to confront the fact that she'd gone ahead and fallen in love.

"Fuck me," she breathed, running a hand over her bun. "Why this?"

"Careful; the last time you said those words, we ended up in a very unfortunate situation," Elsa murmured with a slight smirk.

"No, I- Mom, I didn't…" Her cheeks heated up as she was forced to think about it again. "You were all over me, and I couldn't pretend it didn't feel good… I wasn't trying to m-make that happen! I swear!"

"Of course I know that, Anna. Don't you think I figured that out? All your nervousness and the tears, they made total sense once I knew who you were. And… I had to take some time and deconstruct how I felt, of course. But that's all in my past. So I'm not going to begrudge you the time, the chance to do the same."

That was a lot more of a relief than Anna could say. For some reason, she felt this pressure to immediately figure out what her feelings were and how to fix them, but having her mother give her the gift of time was the best thing she could have done.

"I, um… okay." Trying for a smile, knowing it probably looked ugly and weird, she went on, "I'll work on it, Mom. Everything's just so fucked up now."

"Well, I know _I_ didn't do anything wrong," Elsa needled her slightly. But the instant Anna looked down, she reached up to pet over her hair soothingly. "And you probably should have tried to resist a little harder, but I understand; this was… not a situation you could ever have expected, or have been prepared to deal with. So if you need forgiveness, you've got it. I'm not going to blame you for a situation so… so completely outside the norm."

Honestly, those were just the words that Anna needed to hear. She hadn't truly feared getting into trouble; no, perhaps underneath it all, Anna feared losing her mother again. It was obvious this Elsa and the one from a week ago were not the same person. The thought that perhaps she would end up driving Elsa to begin drinking again was not unfounded, though she was still glad for verbal confirmation.

Swallowing, Anna opened her arms; Elsa came forward to meet her, and it resulted in the tightest, warmest hug she could ever remember having.

This was nice. It was _good_. Safe, even, because some part of Anna realised that she was also scared that she had lost this, without ever having a chance to get to know the happy person her mother grew up to be. She had been afraid that her mother would reject her, knowing what they had been for a fleeting moment outside the school dance.

Sheer relief flooded her system. She hadn't fucked up enormously. She'd made a mistake, sure, but they could get through it! Together! Burrowing her head in, she simply breathed, appreciating the nearness. Eyes shut, and nose full of the pleasant smell of Elsa, Anna lost herself.

"Anna," Elsa chuckled very softly at the nuzzling. Was she still wearing Baby Soft? No… this was a much higher dollar perfume, but it couldn't mask the natural scent she adored. In fact, it complemented it rather well.

"I love you," she finally whispered, clutching at her back desperately. She pulled back and kissed her cheek, and Elsa smiled. Another kiss…

Once their lips grazed each other, Elsa's hand came up a lot faster than Anna thought it possibly could. She flinched from the quickness of the action, but then stilled when she realised she had only slid all four of her fingers between their mouths.

"No, Anna."

"What?" What she had been doing caught up to her, and she pulled away, swallowing hard. "O-oh, I- wait, that wasn't-"

"No." Elsa looked both sad and a little unsettled, but in control of her actions. Barely fazed. "Believe me, I know how easy it would be. But we can't."

Shaking her head quickly, she rushed to tell her, "I wasn't trying to, I p-promise! But it felt so good to finally… and I guess I wasn't thinking, Mom, I don't…"

She felt the tears forming in her eyes, and Elsa hugged her again. How could she be so different? Her old mother would have slapped her across the face for trying that, and shouted at her for an hour. Which, to be fair, was a very understandable reaction to your child trying to initiate any kind of romantic contact. How could she have turned out so wonderful because of such a terrible mistake?

So of course, she began crying again, despite the forgiveness. There was nothing else she could do. No words to explain herself. No words to justify her unwanted advance.

How had Elsa dealt with this? After finally realising who her Tori had been, how had she come to terms? How had she reconciled her feelings, pushed them away or destroyed them? Anna couldn't. Maybe after thirty years she'd be able to put them to rest, but… she also didn't want to. Like when she was angry and she just wanted to be mad, or when she was sad and she just wanted to cry. She didn't want to 'solve' her emotions. Put them on the backburner or pretend they didn't exist. In this moment she wanted them to fill her up because it just felt so good.

Why was she so _weak?_ It wasn't fair to Elsa. In some back corner of her mind, she realised it wasn't fair to Punz, either. And that same corner cried out, saying, "But you _do_ love Jennifer, too!" and while that wasn't wrong, it also didn't show the full picture.

With Elsa, here and now, there was a need. Not for sex, and not for kissing; not _exactly_. Perhaps it was a side-effect of her formerly-loveless home life, but welling up in Anna was a deep-seated need for intimacy. Emotional, physical… and perhaps sexual. And the thought didn't disgust her as much as she had expected – as much as she had hoped it would, because who actually wanted that with their mother? The thought was less off-putting than it had been in 1985, and that could only come down to the fact that Elsa now knew everything.

Or she had a thing for older women. Which… also wasn't out of the realm of possibilities. She _had_ admitted that her celebrity pass was totally Aimee Mann, despite the hours of mockery she's copped from her friends afterwards.

Suddenly, Elsa's words rang through her mind again, this time with a very different meaning than perhaps she had intended. Wiping at her eyes, Anna looked up. "Wait, you… know how easy it would be?" she asked softly.

"Yes. Don't you think I thought about it, once I realised who you were? Never acted on it – because you're my child. And you are _a_ child; maybe you're almost an adult now, but it would have been even more sick and horrible before this past year." Reaching up, she grasped both sides of Anna's neck. "You're a teenager! You deserved to… live your life! Be free, find happiness of your own! Not worry about your mother's weird hangup that might have only been her imagination!"

"But… you knew it wasn't. You said, you and Dad… you figured out I was Tori." But she understood what her mother meant, even if it was hard to wrap her mind around all the concepts right away.

"We did. And it didn't change how I felt about you. You're still my daughter, and I want you to _stay_ my daughter."

"And I want to stay that, too!" Anna burst out with a sob. "But I also want more! A-and it's not that I'm planning to get it, or that I ever decided it, I just… feelings I can't…"

When Anna didn't finish her thought, Elsa prompted her gently, "Go on. You never have to be afraid of what you could say to me."

If that was true, she was about to test those limits. "I loved being held by you, Elsa. And kissing you. And… and everything," she whispered, chickening out at the last second and being unable to directly mention her mother devouring her in the car. "I want that, too, even though it's w-with you in the past, I… I would-"

"We can't," she said again firmly. "I don't want to do that with any seventeen-year-old at all, especially not one that came out of my womb. That was a different time, and we could be different people to each other then. But now, we have to put the boundaries back up, alright?"

It took Anna a few seconds to absorb the weight of that. "Y-you're right," she whispered. "I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry… I just like, my body and my brain are fighting each other, and it's so stupid. I'm _so_ stupid!"

"It's not stupid," Elsa said firmly. "And I don't want to hear you call yourself that. But we both need to start accepting that what we had back then… it's impossible. Life isn't fair and we don't always get what we want. And this is one of those situations that, no matter what, we would never be able to make it work.

"It took me a very long time to come to terms with what we did – what I did, even if it was unknowingly. I don't…" she trailed off for a moment. "I don't expect miracles overnight, Anna. That would be cruel and unfair. But I do expect you to try to leave the past in the past. I know how you feel about that Punz girl; chase her instead. Don't spend your life like me, always looking behind at what was, and what could have been."

Anna didn't say anything for a moment. She looked away, too many thoughts running through her head. Nothing concrete – a snippet of an idea, a thousand of them. Her face was sticky and probably still red, and she still couldn't help the way she leaned into the touch when one of Elsa's hands came to hold her cheek.

"There's my girl," Elsa said softly. Anna hoped she didn't realise how painful that simple line was. As she got up, Anna finally found her voice.

"What- what if I don't want Punz?" she asked. Lie. It was a lie, she did love Jennifer. But she refused to let her mother brush their own connection under the rug. Perhaps it was her youthful ideology, but she knew that if she didn't fight now, she'd never ever have a chance. And that was all she wanted; to really get to explore this instead of letting her mom shut it down, be the only one who chose. "What if we could…?"

"Anna!" Elsa burst out in exasperation. Not anger, or disappointment; just vague frustration at their situation. "You have a full life ahead of you, and 'Punz' is your own age – and much hotter than me, to be honest. I think you two could be very happy together, and so did you before today."

Stubborn to the last, Anna folded her arms over her chest and turned away from her. "She's not hotter than you. And I don't just mean you back in the 80s; like, sure that Elsa was really hot, too, but… you're a total MILF, okay?"

"I find myself _really_ hoping you don't know what that stands for."

"I mean, you tell me a better time to use it than when it's _actually my mom_," she snorted. Elsa laughed, even if she was still less than comfortable. "Point is, I wouldn't mind either one of you sitting on my face. It's not a competition."

That finally did ruffle Elsa a little more than she had been up until that point. Sputtering for a second or two, she finally facepalmed. "God… you really need to stop with that. I said you can tell me anything, but flirting – and _very effectively_ flirting – wasn't what I meant."

"Okay, okay," Anna mumbled. This version of Elsa was too kind and loving to be any more of a brat than she already was being, so she slumped back against the couch. "I know. I know, it's… this is all really weird. Especially since I'm probably acting way different than you remember me being yesterday, too."

At that, Elsa looked vaguely embarrassed. She didn't say anything until Anna prompted her with a nudge. "Well… not exactly…" she said. What? "You… yesterday, you didn't have any idea what had happened because, for you, it hadn't happened. Yet. But that… doesn't mean you were acting differently."

Anna just looked at her, mouth agape. When Elsa didn't seem to want to say anything more, she was forced to find her voice. "You- you mean…?"

"You were always a mommy's girl," Elsa said. She sounded less embarrassed and more… horrified.

"Holy shit," Anna murmured, not really talking to Elsa.

"Well, don't panic," she tried to reassure her, though she sounded a lot less comfortable about the topic now. "You never made any overt… advances; that's not what I'm trying to say. But I noticed little things. For instance, you were always offering to aloe me up when I had a sunburn, or give massages. Asking me to tell you that you're my 'favourite'. Innocent enough things on their own."

Nodding slowly, she said, "On their own. But… yeah, I guess if you're already worried about me having a thing for you… because I'm technically your first girlfriend from thirty years ago…"

"Nothing ever happened. I had a few stray feelings stirred up, but it didn't get out of hand, and I certainly never took advantage. I was very careful to never encourage you, and tried not to _discourage_ you too harshly." This sounded a little rehearsed, as if she had to reassure herself about that aspect relatively often. "But yes, I did have to wonder a few times."

Swallowing hard, she toyed with the hem of her plaid shirt as she thought that over. "Um… I'm sorry, Mom. I'm not really the same Anna as her, completely, b-but I guess… I don't know, it's still bad, and I still feel like I should apologise."

"Don't," Elsa whispered, gripping her forearm. "It was sweet, and highly flattering. I loved that you wanted to be so close. I just couldn't let us get _too_ close, that's all."

"I'm glad you and Dad are happy," Anna forced herself to say, trying to do what was right. To put those feelings aside and figure out what her life was like now. "A-and that, um, you seem to be doing okay."

Shrugging, Elsa went on, "We are happy. He's successful, and I'm independent, and out, and… well, your brother and sister are fine. I'd gladly take a weird lingering memory of my daughter from the past if it means I get to have this life instead of… well, that other one you mentioned. Which I can't even imagine," she added with a weak laugh, eyes wide and staring off into the corner.

"Yeah, you're _way_ better off," Anna agreed readily. Then her brow furrowed. "Wait… did you just say that you're 'out'?"

Finally, Elsa gave her first honest smile of the day. She was proud of herself. "I am. Have been since high school – or, well, fairly soon afterward. After everything that happened that night – really, that whole week – I didn't want to hide anymore." She looked away, bashfully. "And Kristoff was great. He was my rock."

So that was how this life had been so successful. Mutual love and respect – something that had been sorely missing from the alternate life they'd led. And internal love and respect. Elsa didn't hate herself; didn't fight against her feelings with every fibre of her being. She had accepted herself, and that seemed to have made all the difference.

"Really? So like… are you and him… um…" Anna let out a little nervous laugh. "I don't want to say the wrong thing. But are you still my mom and dad?"

"Of course, honey," she told her honestly, pulling her close and wrapping her arms around her tightly. "But… well, the romantic component to our life faded years ago. Now we're more like business partners in the company that is this family; committed to supporting each other, and we're good friends. And that's about where things are now."

Sadness settled into her chest. But it wasn't too biting, given what she knew about her original reality. "Oh. Well… I guess that's good, since you two were kind of the same before. Except you hated each other."

A little crease formed between Elsa's eyebrows. "Why? If you don't mind me asking. Since I don't believe I will ever meet that version of myself."

"The drinking. Plus, you remember how Dad was birdwatching in front of the house when I saved him?" Elsa nodded; that at least put to rest how much she remembered from the past. Anna was working through things mentally even as she was speaking, but as the words came out of her mouth she could feel they made the most sense. "Well, he was supposed to get hit with the car. Then you would pity him and take care of him, and you went to the dance together. So… he didn't really get that big boost of confidence from taking down Hans, and… I mean, it looks like it was super effective in this reality."

But that raised another question: what happened in the other reality? Had Hans…? The thought made Anna sick. That version of Elsa had never spoken about herself like that – it had always been "in my day, I did this," or "when I was a child, I would have never!" But if Kristoff never stopped him…

Perhaps it was lucky, then, that their peace was broken by the sound of the doorbell. Anna whined when Elsa stood up – she couldn't help herself – but it only earned an exasperated smile. She didn't bother to see who was at the door. Instead she took advantage of her solitude to look around the living room. It was going to take some time, getting used to this. Getting used to the dual memories, too. At least she could trust that she had a mother to help her, now, instead of hinder.

"Anna?"

"What?" she whined, slouching as she dutifully got to her feet. It took half a second for her back to straighten, and she rubbed at her face to remove the last traces of her tears. _"Punz!"_

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Sensuality, including a first time with fingering.

Indeed, Jennifer Punzel was standing at the door. She looked exactly the same as the last time Anna had seen her, all bright smiles and soft hair. _Punz._

Until Anna saw her in that moment, she hadn't realised just how much she'd missed her. Dashing forward, she swept her into her arms and held her close, grateful for a familiar face. One that hadn't changed the way everything else had. She picked her up bodily and swung her around in a circle, literally flinging one of her ballet flats across the entrance hall into the corner.

"Whoa, whoa!" she giggled, though she was clearly pleased with the reaction. "Okay, I get it, you're happy to see me – and that's not just a banana in your pocket!"

"Stupid," she choked out in an overcome, affectionate voice. Then she set her down and pulled back to grin down at her soft cheeks, pressing their foreheads together.

"McFly, what the heck? You act like you haven't seen me in a week."

"I haven't."

"Dork." Shaking her head, Punz leaned up to kiss her nose. Anna fought back her surprise; it seemed not _everything_ was the same as she'd left it. Once more, something had changed for the better. "Are we all set for the lake tonight? I was kinda worried when you weren't up yet this morning, but we have plenty of time left."

Alarmed, she blinked over at Elsa. Was it still alright for her to go with Jennifer, after everything that had happened? Could she handle being in the moment with her when they could no longer be each other's firsts now? It was a truly sad thought; she didn't mean for any of this to happen, but the plan had been to be the first ones to explore each other's pants before Doc's crazy time machine wrecked that whole idea.

But not just their pants. Anna had wanted Punz to be her first, in every possible way. First love, first kiss…first everything. Her_ only_, if everything worked out. Sure, Anna hadn't 'returned the favor', but it wasn't exactly a one-sided affair. Should she keep it a secret? Should she refrain from telling Punz that she wasn't… untouched?

Eyes falling to Elsa, briefly, Anna came to a decision: it didn't matter. Virginity was antiquated, and it didn't lessen Punz's importance in her life. She couldn't undo her actions, but she could make sure that her future ones were exactly what she wanted.

She just needed to make sure she knew _what_ she wanted.

Turning to Elsa, not letting go of Punz, she said, "Mom? That okay? Can… I go?"

"Of course," Elsa said with a wide smile. "We have all the time in the world to talk when you get back." That was obviously intended to be more meaningful than the words would convey to Jennifer, of course. "Have fun, you two."

"Great!" Punz latched onto Anna's arm and dragged her back to her bedroom to begin packing. But all the while, her thoughts were still stubbornly stuck in the living room, with the woman she thought would vanish when she returned to the present.

~ o ~

The lake was beautiful this time of year, when the Autumn was just beginning to grip the trees and turn them red and gold. Many of them would never turn, due to how far south in California they were, but it was still quite majestic to look out over.

"Man… I can't believe we're finally doing this," Anna sighed as she stretched her limbs, gazing out over the water.

Jennifer gave a small chuckle. "Well, after you flaked on me last night, I was wondering if we were going to get a chance," she said, though there was no bite to her words. Anna still turned her head away, blushing.

"Yeah… sorry about that. I dunno what happened." At least that wasn't a lie. Anna really had no idea what she'd done yesterday in this life. But they were here now. The water was smooth and clear, reflecting the sun as it sank towards the horizon. It wasn't quite sunset, but the air was growing cool. Anna only really first noticed it when Punz sidled up, just a little so their shoulders were touching.

Anna didn't mean to compare. But now that she had some experience, she couldn't help herself. Elsa had been so forceful; for a closeted queer of the mid-80s, Elsa had been really… bold. By contrast, Punz was tentative. Careful. Anna would have been, too, if the last week hadn't happened.

Not now, though. Looking over at her friend, Anna knew what she wanted.

"Jen…" Her hand came up to comb through her soft brown forelocks, brushing them back and over her ear as she leaned closer. "I don't know why this took us so long, but… I think there's no better place."

"Jen?" she whispered with a little chuckle. "What happened to 'Punz'? Or is this too serious for nicknames?"

"It's pretty serious." Taking her hands, she squeezed them gently. "I'm so happy to be with you. And I mean like… be _with you_."

That did startle the other girl, and she blinked as her breath caught. "Wh… o-oh. Anna, I…" Biting her lip for a moment, she looked away and down, then back up at her. "Yeah. Maybe we're ready. And I think I have been for a really, really long time, I just… well, y'know. Friends first, and all that crap."

"Yeah, that crap," she chuckled. They were getting closer, and closer still. Anna's eyes slid closed, feeling hot breath on her lips…

And she saw her mother in her mind's eye. Leaning in to kiss her on the bed in their house before it was their house, surging across the car seats to take her lips. Comforting her in the living room, even with Anna being as disgusting as she possibly could be.

Her head turned away at the very last second, pressing into Punz's cheek. It wasn't going to work. Yes, she did care her, but she couldn't use that to drive out other feelings, towards other people, that easily.

"Anna?" came the trembling question into her ear, and Anna's hands twitched to clamp down harder on her soft shoulders before she removed them entirely. She didn't deserve to touch Punz, not with what she was about to reveal.

"Something… something happened…" Anna said softly. "And it's been weird, and a mess, and I don't really understand it myself. But I think we gotta… I gotta tell you before we keep going."

She had to pause to gather her thoughts. Punz pulled away, just a little, to look Anna in the eye. God she looked so beautiful. Anna raised a hand, wanting to touch her friend but unable to convince herself to actually do it. She didn't deserve to yet.

"I want this with you," she whispered. "So bad. For a long time! But I don't know how much would be because of my feelings for you, or because of how much I want to… to run away from my feelings for someone else. And that's not cool." Closing her eyes, cards on the table, she spoke around the tightness in her chest. "It sounds so cliché to say, 'it's not you, it's me', but there's no other way to put it. I fucked up. And until I can give all of myself to… exploring what we have… it's not fair to use you to like, erase my other feelings. That's bad. I might not know much, but I know that."

It was obvious that Jen didn't know how to react. Anna had expected that. Pulling away entirely, she gave a self-deprecating laugh. "And now I'm screwing up our weekend, too. God…"

"Hey, no," Punz said, her voice uncertain. _Very_ uncertain, but apparently she wasn't going anywhere. "You haven't messed anything up."

"Yes, I have… I really have. God, why can't I just…" Her hands fisted against her forehead, clutching at the bangs that normally fell there, messing up her braids.

"Anna! Whoa, whoa…" Punz gently pried the hands away, caressing over her wrists as she did so. "Listen. I'm… we've been hanging out forever. It makes sense you would want to try… I don't know, just see what's out there? Whatever it is- whoever it is, I'm not gonna be upset."

That prompted a humourless laugh from Anna. Oh, if she only knew… but she couldn't cross that bridge. Not just yet, if ever. "I don't deserve you."

"Maybe not." They both shared a wry little smile, even if Anna was feeling it a lot more than before. "But… can I ask for one thing? In exchange for how completely cool about this I'm being right now."

"Name it," she snorted.

"Kiss me." Her hands wrapped around the collar of Anna's shirt, pulling her in close. "Just do it. Once. I want you to know what you're missing when you're… well, when you're 'thinking things over'."

So that was her game plan. She could tell that Punz had already painted a possible image in her mind of what happened. The night they were supposed to go to the lake, Anna met another woman, fell for her, and now she couldn't make up her mind. Which, in a way, was true… even if it wasn't so cut-and-dry as all that.

"You'd still kiss me? Even after I told you that?" For the hundredth time that day, she could feel wetness gathering at the corners of her eyes.

When Punz gave a chuckle, it sounded like she was on the verge of tears herself. Even as her face moved ever clsoer. "Well… yeah."

_Oh._ Anna couldn't deny that she wanted to kiss Punz. Jennifer. But she wanted a lot of things. She longed for a life not messed over by time travel and- and _incest,_ oh god! But she shook that thought from her head. Now wasn't the time for that. Punz deserved that, at least. So, trembling, she nodded.

"Only- only if you want," Anna said softly. Punz smiled and leaned closer.

"I want," she replied against Anna's lips, before finally sealing them.

It was everything she had ever hoped. Soft and sweet. Punz took the lead, and Anna let her. It was only fair. Anna didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to be kissed so softly, sweetly… tenderly.

But there was one thing Punz's patience and understanding had accomplished: she certainly wasn't thinking about anyone else but her now. Fully focused on her lips, her gentle heat and her soft cheeks. A completely different experience than the other one she had.

When Jennifer pushed her back into the bed of the truck, Anna wrapped her arms around her body, pulling her down with her. Letting her maintain control. The kissing grew more vigorous, and hands began to wander. When she felt one at her hip, she broke the kiss to speak.

"Punz… wait."

"Huh?" she mumbled, a little dazed.

"Just… slow down. We have all night." Her hand reached up to comb through her hair again, and she smiled at the light flush in the cheeks of her girlfriend. "But… yeah, wow."

"Wow," Punz giggled as she curled up around Anna's body. "Mmm, sorry. I know our first real heavy kiss almost turned into our first time, but I guess I've been holding back the urges so long they kinda just…"

"Exploded? Yeah… yeah, I know what you mean." Of course, Anna was talking about a situation involving someone else, but she definitely knew what she was talking about.

Then the meaning behind her words became clear to Anna. "Wait, whoa, you- you would? With me?" Anna asked. There was an implicit, "now?" to the question, which was by most accounts redundant anyway. If Anna hadn't stopped her, would they have continued, despite what she had revealed only moments before?

Punz didn't answer, not with words. She moved a little closer; held a little tighter. One hand, which hand come to rest on Anna's stomach, moved up, stopping just below her breasts. "You can kiss me, too, you know," she said. In the still of the evening, her words may as well have been shouted.

Swallowing, Anna smiled. "If you want…" One corner of Punz's mouth twitched in a grin.

"I want, Anna," she said again, voice strong and words fierce. She was saying other things, too, with her body and with her eyes; things that Anna couldn't bring herself to think about, not yet, because they brought her too close to the topic she didn't want to remember. She didn't want to taint Punz, or the memories she made with her.

So Anna kissed her, lost herself in the feeling of Punz, her girlfriend. And maybe she could find peace with her. Brief snatches of it, like now.

"I don't deserve you," she said when they parted again. "How are you so… perfect? And beautiful, inside and out?"

"You deserve me because I say so," came the reply. "And I think you deserve every part."

"Glad one of us does." Her hands began to run up and down the length of Punz's body, from shoulder along her slight chest and down to her curving hip, back up along her ribcage. Punz closed her eyes. Clearly, she had been waiting for Anna to take some initiative for a while.

So she did. Maybe she couldn't fully give herself to Jennifer yet with everything swimming around in her head, but she could give Jennifer what _she_ was craving most.

A soft "Oh" fell from her lips when Anna began rubbing her through her jeans. But she said no more than that, merely leaning in to kiss her again. So Anna kept it up, gliding her fingers up and down along what she knew lay beneath. Their breaths grew shakier, though Punz's were shakier still than her own, until finally she had to break away from the kiss to breathe.

"You… can tell me to stop anytime," Anna reassured her in a soft voice. Hoping to mirror some of her girlfriend's confidence, she added, "But I hope you don't."

"Anna…" Her thighs parted slightly, and she raised one up to drape over Anna's hip, giving her access. Granting permission for her to go as far as she was willing.

So she went further. The fingertips glided up again, but this time they took a moment to unbutton, unzip, and then rub at her through the lace of her panties. Clearly Punz had planned for this. Anna smiled, glancing down to look at what she was doing.

_Purple underwear._

Anna froze. Her brain short-circuited even as Punz moaned against her ear. How could- how could she do this? After what she'd allowed to happen to herself only the night before, at her mother's hands?

"Please, Anna," Punz said, hips grinding jerkily. Unpractised. Anna forced her mind back to present day. This wasn't about her. It was about Punz, and treating her like the only girl in the world. She _was_ the only girl in Anna's world. And for whatever reason, she thought Anna worthy of her. She couldn't let her down when she deserved to be happy. To have a first time free of worry.

"Sorry," Anna whispered, redoubling her efforts. "Here…"

This time, when she pushed past the waistband, she was able to stay focused. Jennifer looked so beautiful laid out below her, eyes closed and lips slightly parted as she panted. Anna smiled at the cute little buck teeth; she had always thought they were adorable. She kissed her cheek and neck as she slid down through her soft hairs to glide up against her wetness.

"OH!" she gasped out. "Anna!"

"I-is it alright?" she asked, though she didn't stop or draw away. She was reasonably sure it was alright… but had to ask. Maybe Elsa had gone down on her, but this was her first time initiating or trying anything herself. All new territory.

"Y-yeah… mmmhh, oh it's so much better than when I do it." A little soft laugh. "Maybe that's a silly thing to s-say right now…"

"Nah. You sound incredible. And you feel…" Anna didn't have words. Was this what it was like to touch another woman? It almost felt wrong, like she shouldn't be allowed to get this close to someone, but at the same time she had never felt more honoured to indulge in her wicked side. Her one regret was that Punz couldn't be given that honour in return.

Most of all, because it was Punz. The woman she loved. Even if she had been confused by other recent events, that hadn't really changed… just been obscured.

"You're beautiful," Anna whispered. "I'm so lucky…"

And she was, in so many ways. Punz was giving her everything, no shame or hesitation. As stupid as she thought the notion of virginity, Anna was at least able to recognise that to some people, it held value – and a moment like this, regardless, was special.

Anna wrestled with a thought, even as she was pushing Jen ever closer to her climax: did she deserve to know? The answer was a resounding 'yes', but it raised other questions: was Anna brave enough to tell her? Did she think Punz would _believe_ her?

Too big. The thoughts were too big to answer alone; she needed to talk to her mother, or Doc. So she decided to shake them for now. No need to kill her mood, and Punz's, with those kinds of thoughts. Instead, she simply focused harder on the woman she was with. Though inexperienced, Anna made up for it in her eagerness to please her girlfriend.

Slipping a finger inside Jennifer for the first time was an interesting experience. Anna marvelled at the slickness that clenched around her and she took her time in exploring, poking and prodding to figure out what felt best. She was rewarded by a choked cry, the feeling of Jennifer's fingers digging into her shoulder, and the swell of pride in her chest that she was the cause of it.

Within about five furious minutes of Anna stroking her inner walls, growing accustomed to how she felt inside, Jennifer was getting close to her climax. Anna had never felt anyone else do that before but all the signs were unmistakable: shorter, more shallow breaths, the squirming of her hips, and the way she called out Anna's name in a continual litany. It made her heart soar to hear her this way; maybe it spread heat to her own nether regions, as well, but if she were truly being honest, that took a distant backseat to simply seeing the woman she loved look so purely joyful.

"Anna!" Punz finally called out, writhing and gasping for breath as she clutched at Anna's shoulders, face sheathed in sweat. "More! Yes!"

"Come for me. Just let it all out!" Maybe that was a stupid response, but it was all Anna could think of to say. She just wanted to hear her love moan and enjoy herself.

And she did – the orgasm rocked her and turned her into a thing unhinged, completely given over to the moment. It was one of the most beautiful sights she had seen in all her life. Minutes and aftershocks passed, and all that time Anna couldn't keep her eyes off Jennifer's sweet, blushing face.

And then came the giggles. They were tired and slow, but still there.

"Wow," Punz said after a moment. "Wow. That was… God."

Anna smirked. "Thanks, but you can just call me Anna."

At that, Punz squealed, giving her a light shove. "You nerd," she said, fondness seeping into her voice. It managed to resurrect the blush that had been rapidly fading, highlighting her freckles. The sun had sunk well towards the horizon, and the cool steel of the truck bed had begun to soak into their clothes and their skin. Anna shivered, and Punz nuzzled in close.

"Maybe we should move," Anna suggested softly.

"Mmm don't wanna…" Punz whined. Still she sat up; she had actually made it from the truck before she realised her pants were still undone.

"I tell you what; that's hot." Biting her lip, Anna hopped out of the truck bed. She glanced at her hand, then up at her girlfriend. "Hey, Punz…"

"What?" She looked a little drained when she turned around, probably from the outpouring of energy. But when she saw Anna taking the finger she had used on her into her mouth, her eyes flew open. "Anna! You… o-oh…"

The smile was clearly pleased as Anna drew the finger back out. She herself was blushing, too; this was not a level of boldness she was used to attempting at all. Maybe the one good thing about what happened to her in the past was that she had gotten over that shyness.

Well, there were many good things. But she didn't want to think about the rest at the moment.

"You're so bad," she muttered as she skipped back over toward Anna to place a kiss on her cheek. "Anyway… um… I don't think you have to worry about me running off just because of those 'complications' you mentioned earlier. If you keep making me moan like that, the least I can do is give you room to figure yourself out."

Anna didn't have any words to tell Punz how much she appreciated that thought. At the same time, though, she didn't think it was fair on the other girl. Unable to look at her for the moment, Anna instead faced the ground.

"You don't have to wait for me," she said softly. "That's not fair on you."

Punz snorted. Anna heard her take a few steps, and before she could glance up, the other girl had come to a stop. Punz took her hands and squeezed them.

"What do you think I've been doing?" she asked with a smile. "Anyway, I decide what I want to waste time on – and for whatever reason, that's you."

Her words sounded harsh, but her smile and sarcastic tone took out any bite that may have remained. And without prompting, she bent forward, pressing her lips against Anna's just once, quickly.

"Punz…"

"And now you know what you're gonna be missing," she said softly. "Now, c'mon. I'm getting hungry."

And with that, she was off, giggling again. Anna stared in mingling delight and wonder, with a quiet undercurrent of dread. Punz deserved the best; she just had to figure out if the best meant her.

~ o ~

The rest of the night went great. Even though Anna turned down Punzie's attempts to return the favour – saying she just wanted to hang out for the rest of the night, much to her girlfriend's disappointment – they had a great time, building a campfire and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows, laughing about the upcoming dance and chatting about the future of the band. It wasn't exciting, but Anna had enough excitement for one lifetime.

No thanks to the Doc. To help cover for what happened the night before, she did end up telling Jennifer about the experiment, and how Doc almost died. She looked horrified and worried. Even though she had only brought Punz around once or twice to meet him, she still seemed to think he was funny in a quirky way and was genuinely concerned about his health. But Anna promised they would go check in on Doc when they got back.

Then they passed out in the bed of the truck in their sleeping bags. It was the first time Anna had ever really slept beside someone in that way, and she couldn't sleep at first. Too giddy and too full of affection. Punz was much the same, grinning across at her silently as the stars twinkled overhead. They kissed a few times, but tried not to do it too much so they would eventually fall asleep.

Eventually.

Early the next morning, Anna felt something nuzzling her. For a split second, she worried it was a bear or something, but then a slight smile pulled at her lips when she remembered who she was with. She didn't make a sound – why say good morning when she could _show_ Punz instead?

So, rolling over, Anna snuggled in further, lips pressing against a warm throat. She was rewarded with a soft moan that sent gentle vibrations through her lips.

"Mmmm, someone's up," Punz commented. Anna didn't bother replying – not with words, at any rate. The air was cool as she took her arms from her sleeping bag, using them to ensnare Punz and push her over.

"Someone is," Anna said, gazing goofily at her- her girlfriend? They hadn't discussed labels, but judging from Jennifer's actions, she wasn't exactly looking at other people.

Unlike Anna. Geez. But it wasn't the time for that. This weekend was about Punz, not about some thing that happened two nights ago – or thirty years ago, depending on one's perspective.

Luckily, Punz was there to help shift her from that downward spiral, pulling her own hands out to embrace Anna and draw her close. She leaned up, pressing their lips together – it was like a drug. Anna couldn't get enough, and from Punz's own willingness to initiate, she was the same. This time, Anna took the opportunity to nibble at her through her shirt. Punz giggled, then began to pant when she felt the lips making short work of her peaks through the fabric. Anna not only needed this, but rejoiced in it, plying at the surface.

But it reminded her of another moment involving nipples. One that she put out of her mind immediately; this was _their_ weekend. Not a weekend to reflect on the insanity of the past. Punz was already rolling her over onto her back, pinning her and smirking downward.

"Got you, McFly."

"You sure did," she half-panted with a beaming smile. Then she saw Punz trying the same thing on her. "Ooh… this is… freakin' hot." Except there was something missing. Something she _definitely _remembered another girl playing with only just last week. A hand shot up to the tit not currently being lavished, and it confirmed her suspicions.

Her piercings were gone.

She had a moment of panic before the realisation hit her: this universe, this Anna, had never had reason to get them. There had been no alcoholic mother to rebel against. Sure, she was still interested in getting them, but she knew deep down that the last little _push_ that sent her to the tattoo parlour had been a fight with her mother.

Punz hadn't noticed her distraction, probably taking her movement as encouragement, as a sign that Anna was more than enjoying the actions. And she was! A hum of appreciation had Anna's attention moving away from her ruminations and into this moment.

"You better believe it is," Punz murmured.

Then she began to steadily kiss downward. Anna didn't want her to stop. She craved it. She still remembered the feeling of having someone there, to be completely at their mercy.

But that was the thought that had her pushing Punz away, scrambling to sit up. The morning air only made the peaks of her nipples that much more prominent, and Anna had a sudden desire to cover herself. She didn't regret what she had done with Elsa – not exactly. But it still made her feel… dirty.

"Anna?" Punz asked gently, puzzled and perhaps a little hurt. "Did- did you not want me to…?"

"No!" Anna cried, before she could stop herself. And then she cringed. "I mean… I do want this – want you. I just… need time."

It was a piss-poor excuse, Anna knew that. Even if it was the truth. How was she ever supposed to move on and get better if she didn't give herself a chance? Elsa had even said as much – she'd had years, _decades_, to come to terms. Anna had been given hours.

Of course Punz looked put out by being turned down. But to her credit, she shrugged and turned to lean against the side of the truck bed, drawing her knees up to her chin as she looked out over the lake.

"Kay."

After a second or two, Anna managed to suppress all of her urges – and her instinct to cry – and crawled up to sit next to her. "I'm, uh, working through something. Let's just say… I hooked up with somebody. And I didn't mean for it to happen, but she was really… really forceful." A rueful chuckle escaped her at the thought.

"Forceful? She didn't… I mean, it wasn't-"

"No, no," she assured her, smiling fondly at how alarmed Punz was on her behalf. Her hand took up the other girl's, and she felt her squeeze in recognition. "It's okay, I'm okay. Just… yeah, I really didn't expect that, and now I don't want to just… you know… 'Why not let Punz do it again?' I want it to be about us, about sharing that moment with just you."

Though Jen looked a little green to be discussing Anna being with someone else, she continued to smile, albeit weakly. "Um… okay, I don't know exactly how you want me to react to this."

"I don't want you to react any one way. Just trying to let you know why I'm being so weird, that's all. Sorry."

"Yeah. And… it's okay, I… well, we've been such awkward turtles, and never straight-up said we were 'girlfriend and girlfriend' before. Maybe we were exclusively _almost-dating_ but we never actually made it official, so it'd be pretty stupid for me to be upset over you, um, looking into other options."

"It wasn't like that!" she cried, though it definitely sounded less angry and more defeated. "She… I made sure to tell her about you, and- and my feelings. But somehow she just…"

"Worked her way in there anyway?" Punz's voice was soft, and maybe a little sad. Anna broke.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, leaning in close. Her eyes grew wet, and she knew it wasn't fair to seek this kind of comfort from Punz; but she also knew Punz wouldn't push her away. Selfish as it was, that was a nice thought.

Anna wasn't even sure how long had passed when she stopped crying and pulled away from the hug to wipe at her face. Punz helped her, pushing her tears off her cheeks with both thumbs.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah. God, I'm sorry for falling apart like that, when I'm the one who's the jerk here."

"Nobody's the jerk here," she chuckled. "Well, except maybe for this other chick who jumped your bones without you expecting it."

"Maybe," Anna had to admit out the side of her mouth. Then she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Well. I'm pretty sure it's totally over with her, anyway, so this might be the last conversation we have about this for a while."

"Uh-huh." There was a little disbelief in that one response, but Punz instead focused on reaching into a backpack that had been pushed up close to the cab. "Breakfast?"

So they moved on to munching on Pop Tarts and sipping hot chocolate as they watched the sun rise a little higher over the lake. Slowly, Anna started to hear some of the differences between how Punz was with her when she knew her, and the way she had been with Alternate-Anna. Apparently, this version of herself had the luxury of a supportive mother, so all her nervousness was purely based around how much she liked Jennifer instead of disapproval from her parents. That was a boon, even if one she didn't get to experience directly. The other differences were very slight, such as a few of their running in-jokes being absent, and Punz expecting her to know a few that she didn't. But almost everything else was the same.

And that was something that Anna appreciated, far more than she could put into words. Her life wasn't the same – overnight, it had changed, drastically. For the better, sure, but that didn't mean Anna liked all of it. Her whole life had been about some very specific routines. And while her life had changed around her, she was still the same as she had been before. She was 'Anna from the Dark Timeline' or something equally scifi-sounding.

Man. Maybe she needed to talk to someone about this. Someone not invested.

Of course, if Anna had noticed, then Punz wasn't any different. She didn't comment, but Anna could see that wanted to. The question never really left her eyes – "what happened?" – but Anna didn't have an answer; even if she did, she wasn't sure that Punz was ready to hear it anyway.

So they swam a little, admiring each other's bodies – though not seeing them on full display. Still that slight bit shy, and probably more because of Anna's reluctance that Punz couldn't quite understand. It was becoming clear this wasn't a situation they could let fester.

Eventually, they packed up to head back into town. Anna kissed Punz again around the corner from her parents' house, since they didn't like Anna in either reality. Then she dropped her off and headed for home. But on the way there, she had another idea pop up.

Who was the one person who actually fully understood her situation?

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	4. Chapter 4

Doc Pabbie's house was empty when she got there. It was the same small house he lived in during the other timeline; apparently not even the knowledge of his own success had changed how he spent his money. She was on the point of leaving, tapping a pencil against a legal pad and trying to think of what to say, when she heard a BOOM from outside. Running to one of the windows, she pushed her hands and face against it to see the DeLorean coming up the driveway.

"DOC!" she cried out with a wide smile. Still glad to see he was alive, despite all the thoughts muddling her mind. "Hey, I was just about to leave you a note that I was here!"

"Go on and leave it," Emmett Pabbie told her as he brought a few boxes of things out of the car and set them on a bench. Some of them were in odd shapes she couldn't quite recognise, and some of them looked very dated. "I'll still need to see it three days from now, when I can find out that I should have been here to converse with you and can travel back to this point and time and meet you."

"I… um, okay," she muttered, realising that he was the expert. She jotted down the date and time and a 'Sorry I missed you!' that felt disingenuous now.

Putting the last of the strange things down, Doc beckoned her forward once she'd finished the note. "Now. What brings you back to my stoop, Ms McFly?"

This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have in the foyer, so they retired to his living room, which didn't have much sitting room anymore since so many of his inventions were crammed into his house. It was still preferable to anywhere else. Before Doc sat down, he jogged to the kitchen and returned, setting a drink box down in front of her.

It was a Yoohoo.

"What seems to be on your mind?" he asked as he poked the straw into his own.

"Well, I uh… yeah." The chocolatey drink distracted her, but she shook her head out as she picked it up and refocused. "So, um, my life is super different now than it was before this whole crazy Goonie adventure happened…"

The next ten minutes were spent trying to explain the major differences, and a few of the minor ones. This time, when she remarked on she and her mother finding each other attractive, Doc was completely unfazed; obviously thirty years had passed since she first confessed what happened to him, so he'd had a lot of time to accept it as reality instead of an unpleasant, taboo concept.

"A real predicament. I could tell you a few passing details about the Anna McFly I know, but I'm not sure they would all be of use to you." Setting down his empty drink box, he sighed, gazing up at the ceiling. "I'm no love expert, but you and young Jennifer seem to be trending along towards a healthy relationship at the usual rate for teenagers approaching maturity. You've only ever spoken highly of your mother, though on occasion she has been firm or gotten on your nerves, which has led to very typical complaints. Nothing too serious or telling. The alcoholism you mentioned the alternate Elsa McFly suffering through is nonexistent in this continuum."

"Alright, good, this is good," Anna said, using the same legal pad to take notes for herself.

"The last big fight I remember you having with your parents… it involved tertiary education." At her blank look, he provided, "University. Elsa and Kristoff are of the opinion that you should go and have the quintessential 'college experience', while you wish to devote your time to your band. Unfortunately for you, I agree with your parents, though I kept my opinion to myself at the time."

Huh. University was never anything she had given serious thought about. It simply didn't seem to be in the cards for her – at least, not before she went on her time-travelling sojourn. Her family wouldn't have been able to pay for it, for starters. Now, given the option, Anna still wasn't sure what she wanted to do. It all seemed to pale in comparison to everything that had happened.

"Geez," she said, head falling to her hands. "Like I don't have enough shit to sort out…"

Doc leaned over and awkwardly pet her knee. "There, there…" He looked about as uncomfortable as Anna felt.

"What do I do, Doc?" she asked, resignation and hope warring across her face. "What do I do?"

"I think…" he began, haltingly. "I think that the future is unknowable: it's always in flux. As long as whatever you do, you're happy… that's the most important thing."

"And if that hurts someone?"

"Then you need to talk to them about it. You can't put your own happiness on hold, but neither can you ignore others' pain."

"So I'm damned if I do, and damned if I don't."

"Perhaps you're damned in neither scenario. But you won't know until you choose. Put one foot in front of the other. Progress is progress." Sighing, he ran a hand through his wild hair, still an odd tint of green even in this reality, as he contemplated. "Maybe I have been making a series of mistakes all of my life. Meddling in affairs that have become much too painful. But they were _my_ mistakes to make. Just as you have yours; if you do nothing, that could be the biggest mistake of all. So why not at least give it your best shot?"

"You think so? I should just… do it?"

"I do." Then he raised the drinkbox again. "All you can do is roll the dice, Anna."

~ o ~

Anna returned home hours later, feeling somewhat better. It had helped, to talk – even if she hadn't been given the answers she was really looking for, at least her chest felt lighter.

It was quite late by the time she walked through the front door; the sun had set, and everyone was home – including both Wendy and her boyfriend, Peter, despite the fact that they had their own place. More out of habit than anything else, Anna found herself entering through the side-gate, foregoing the front door – and the chance to accidentally bump any of her family.

She realised her error when the smell of something warm hit her. The table was set, complete with salt and pepper and butter next to various bowls of greens. Gosh, there was even a gravy boat!

"Anna, you're home!" Kristoff's voice was followed by the man himself as he came into the kitchen. "Just in time – dinner's ready!"

And then he opened the oven, and much to Anna's surprise, did not pull out a frozen lasagne. There was a roast on the tray, surrounded by potato and pumpkin and it looked divine. Her parents not only had actually tried to cook, but it looked as if the attempt were _successful_. Where did the surprises end?

"I… thought you were flying… somewhere else?" she asked haltingly, still trying to get over how good the food looked.

"Decided I could stop over here again before I head out to the East Coast," he said with a chuckle. A little lower, so her siblings in the next room couldn't hear, he whispered, "Wanted to make sure everything was alright. You know… after your talk."

At that single word, she glanced at him, heart trip-hammering in her throat. "Um… you and Mom… you both know everything, don't you? Or like, figured some of it out?"

"Yep. I mean, it would be pretty crazy if we went through all that with you and somehow _didn't_ recognise you when we saw you again, wouldn't it?"

"Guess it would," she whispered. Elsa's laughter from the next room sent a bubbling feeling of joy through her stomach. "Oh… oh, hearing Mom happy…"

"What is it, sweetheart?"

So they hadn't got the chance to discuss everything Anna had told her yet. That was probably for the best. Shaking her head, she beamed up at him. "Nothing, Dad. Nothing at all. Just… so glad to be home. That _this_ is home, and I'm here, and…"

Only after his arms were around her and one of his huge hands was patting her back did she realize her eyes were leaking again. But this time, she was just happy. This time, she was just so happy to have a family that loved and appreciated her, even for all the bumps along the way.

They stayed like that just long enough for Anna to compose herself. By that stage, the rest of the family had showed up and were seating themselves around the table. Anna nearly protested when Wendy sat in her seat, before realising that it probably wasn't her seat anymore.

Dinner was delicious, but Anna didn't expect anything less. She noticed, more than she meant to, the differences between this evening's meal, and the last one she had with the other version of her family. For one, the TV was appropriately positioned in the living room, and off.

For another, instead of a fight, they had a conversation.

"This is great, Dad," Wendy said. "You sure know how to roast a chicken."

Familiar words, without desperation clinging to them. Kristoff laughed – full-bellied and happy. "Why thank you, Wendy. The skill is in the technique. Always remember – take it out of the plastic wrap first."

"Shut it, McFly," Elsa warned him with a smile. "That was only once, and I apologised. My mother acted like I set _her_ on fire and not just a dead fowl."

All through dinner, Anna tried not to give herself away too much to Wendy and John. Kristoff and Elsa were very amenable to glossing over her lapses, so she only had to use phrases like "Oh yeah, I knew that" and "Sorry, I must be tired" to help cover when she didn't know something she was supposed to.

"I thought Jennifer would be here tonight," John laughed as he poured himself some more water from the pitcher. "After all this fuss about going up to the lake, I'm ready for the details."

"You wanted the details for a different reason," Wendy sighed in annoyance. "Men are all pigs."

"Hey, now," Kristoff sighed, though he was laughing and his eyes twinkled with amusement. "Don't be a feminist at your brother at the dinner table. Wait until after dessert."

"You're gonna let her talk to me like that, Dad?" John also didn't seem to be very offended.

"I am, and I will again. What's rule number one in this house?"

All of them except Anna chorused, "Women are always right," and she ended up snorting so hard a pea shot out of her nose. Face burning with embarrassment, she had to hide her face while everyone else died laughing, finally joining them when she got over it herself.

Then they had dessert, and Wendy and John went back to their places, promising to drop by soon. Kristoff and Elsa did the dishes, and Anna shyly stood in the corner.

"Come on, pitch in," Elsa said with a wide smile.

"I… well it doesn't feel…" Squirming, she finally blurted, "I feel like a guest, a-and like I'm intruding on your lives, even though it's my life, too, and… I dunno!"

This whole thing was strange. It was like whenever she was made to visit her grandparents; somewhat familiar, but not necessarily comfortable the way your own house was supposed to be. Still, Anna stepped forward, picking up a tea-towel to help her mother wipe up.

"It won't stay like that for long," Kristoff reassured her. "I suppose… a lot has changed for you, hasn't it?" Anna nodded.

"We're here to help as much as we can," Elsa said. "I'd say your brother and sister would, too, but… it's probably better that they don't know."

Kristoff grunted in agreement, and then grimaced. "Well, for the next week, I'll be here in spirit and moral support."

"Early flight tomorrow?" Elsa asked, and he shook his head.

"Late flight tonight." He looked up to the clock, hanging on the wall, and Anna's gaze followed. "Probably oughtta leave in a few. But I couldn't just skip this."

"I'm glad you came back," Elsa whispered, pecking him on the cheek. It was a lot more like the way she used to kiss John or Wendy when they were leaving the house than a "spousal" kiss. Then again, it was still more kisses than she had given her father in the old reality. "Even if it will throw a wrench into your schedule."

"They don't have a signing without the signer." He finally finished washing the last pot, handed it off to Elsa and grabbed for the towel. "Besides… we've been wondering about this day for a long time."

Anna cleared her throat and tried to speak up. "U-uhm… I, uh…" This was hard. "Dad… I know this is probably just as weird for you as it is for me. Knowing that, um, Mom and I…"

"You don't have to go into detail. It's… I mean, you're talking to a best-selling science fiction author, sweetheart. Even if I don't normally believe the things I write are possible, or happening, I've always expected them to be in the realm of possibility. When we figured out you were Victoria, it really threw us for a loop, but…"

"But it was me who struggled with it the most," Elsa sighed as she rinsed off the last few dishes and set some in the drainer on the counter, and the rest in the dishwasher. "Both because of who we are to each other, and also because I was never as immersed in Trek and Wars and other things like that as your father. Still, we're both pretty smart cookies."

"You are," Anna gushed, putting away her plate and walking over to grab for them. Both parents embraced her tightly. "I'm sorry about… about making things weird, and letting Mom do that with me, but at the same time… I'm so happy!"

Kristoff and Elsa did not seem to share her enthusiasm. If anything, they seemed… concerned.

"Mom? Dad?"

"I think we have time for a movie before I need to catch my flight," Kristoff said as he moved back. He turned away to unplug the sink, and Anna found herself feeling very lost.

Elsa smiled. "Great idea, Honey. Anna, wanna go choose a film? I'll make some popcorn."

It was very obviously not a suggestion. Anna nodded, biting the inside of her cheek and retreating to the living room. What was that about?

Eventually, she settled on Alien – a classic, but she'd never seen it. If nothing else, Kristoff and Elsa would appreciate it. After all, how scary could a movie from the 70s be? She made sure to take her time putting it in the Blu-Ray player, stoically ignoring the muffled vibrations coming from the kitchen. If whatever they needed to discuss was important enough, surely they would tell her, right? She just had to trust that they were better people than she assumed – better people than they had been in another timeline.

Then they joined her. They really came in to watch a movie with her, it was going to happen. Not a suggestion blown off because someone was in a mood, but they _made_ the time – for _her_. Even if she had ruined the mood somehow, she still knew this was much preferable to how things had been before.

"Here you go," Elsa said with a gentle smile as she handed Anna the popcorn. "And… well, your father and I were wondering. Would you… like to sit between us?"

"Huh? Oh, I… nah," she said with a slightly shy smile. "That's probably weird. I'm practically an adult, I shouldn't be cuddling with Mommy and Daddy anymore."

"You didn't have 'Mommy and Daddy' a week ago, by the sound of things," Kristoff said reasonably as he patted her shoulder. "And about that. Yes, some mistakes were made in the past, but don't you dare think I'll ever forget what you did for me."

"Did for you? Meaning, almost ruined your life?"

"Meaning you turned me from a spineless perv into a real person. Your advice, wherever you got it, either from us in the future or from Doc, I don't really care… helped me a lot. It was hard some days, but I learned how to provide for my family and pursue my dreams at the same time. I'm not surprised everything was worse for me before you helped 'hack' my whole life."

Elsa was gently coaxing the dumbstruck Anna to sit on the couch with them on either side. By the time she recovered, the movie was starting and she had the popcorn in her lap with them both nibbling at it.

"You guys…" Smiling, she started in on the popcorn herself and tried to figure out what she had missed while she was in her stupor.

But then the film began for real, and everyone turned their attention to it. It was better than Anna had thought it would be, though she was wrong with her initial assessment. This film was _creepy_. Elsa and Kristoff both seemed to enjoy it, and Anna really just enjoyed the company. She wasn't hungry for popcorn – still too full from dinner and dessert – but the bowl stayed on her lap, with her mother and father occasionally taking handfuls.

She wasn't used to this: the closeness. The attention – even though they weren't focussing on her, they were all doing an activity that she had chosen. She could feel her parents pressed quite close against her. The couch was only small, and they – especially her father – were big. So she could feel it every time Elsa shifted – Kristoff, too, but he was easier to ignore. Every time Elsa jumped or leaned forward. Anna had to force herself not to jerk her hand away when it accidentally brushed Elsa's in the popcorn bowl.

It was sweet torture. She fought down her feelings – it was just a movie, they were only watching a movie – and concentrated instead on just… the family aspect of it. Perhaps it was so difficult because it was so different; everything was new and exciting, to a degree. But because she didn't know how she was supposed to feel, it was easy to remember the other positive things Elsa had made her feel.

That was something she was going to have to learn: to retrain herself. That not all positive things were with teenage-Elsa, and not all negative things were with mom-Elsa.

~ o ~

By the end of Alien, she had fairly exhausted herself with fretting over nothing. Her parents wished her goodnight, and she crawled into bed and tried to settle down for sleep.

But sleep refused to come easily. Soon, she would be back in school, worrying about the homecoming dance and Punz, her grades, all that stuff. And on top of that, time travel and having some kind of bizarre attraction to her own mother. This was just too much for any one high school senior to handle!

It was getting close to midnight when her mother knocked on the half-open door. "Can I come in?" she whispered.

"Sure." Sitting up slightly and laying aside her phone, she asked, "Dad on the plane?"

"Yep. Called for an Uber. I, um… I could have driven him, but I felt like I should be close in case you needed me."

Frowning, Anna stared own at her hands on top of her sheets. "I'm not a little kid. Just… messed up right now. But it's temporary! A few days…"

"More than that, I think we both know." Elsa didn't approach the bed. Anna knew, she knew deep in her heart that the reason was her own fault. But she tried not to let that get to her.

"Let me work on it. Before you call for a shrink, or whatever; I think I can… like, if I try hard enough, I think I can fix my head. Stop, um…"

The woman's blonde head tilted to one side. "Stop what?"

She didn't realise? Anna sat up straighter, turning her body more fully towards the woman at the door. There was a faint light behind her, either from the bathroom or the master bedroom, Anna wasn't sure. It gave Elsa a golden silhouette, hiding her age. Despite the fact that this woman had three kids, she could have been mistaken for her 17-year-old self.

"You're gorgeous…" Anna breathed. And then hung her head because she wasn't supposed to be thinking things like this – let alone saying them. How was she going to prove that she could fix this herself when she came out with stupid things like that?

Perhaps Elsa hadn't heard her – or perhaps she was ignoring it – because she took a single step towards the center of the room. "Anna… what is it you want to stop?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Anna whispered helplessly. Hopelessly. "These- these thoughts. But I can do it! I just need some time, I promise!"

She must have sounded so terrible – frightened and upset and even a little angry. Elsa finally stopped hanging back. The sight of her daughter in distress, regardless of the reason, was obviously enough to get her moving.

"It's okay, Anna," she said softly as she sat on the bed. There was still a good two inches of space between them, but that was okay. It was more than Anna had been expecting anyway. "I know. Why don't you tell me about your trip up to the lake?"

Anna snorted. "You make it sound so insignificant…" she said, a tad bitterly. That wasn't fair. It was obvious that Elsa thought the same. She leaned away a little, hurt, but Anna couldn't find it in herself to apologise. It was the truth.

"I trust you," Elsa said in that same low tone. "If you say you can do it, I trust you. And I trust you to come to me if you realise you can't, and you want someone to talk to about it."

"You're so cool about this… it's almost as weird as there being a 'this' in the first place." Sighing, she ran her hands up and down her face. "Thanks, Elsa. I'm gonna do my best."

"Mom."

"What?"

Sighing, Elsa stared at the door with slightly haunted eyes. "Call me 'Mom'. Tori called me 'Elsa', and she said it the way you say it. Not that I'm going to be angry if you slip!" she assured her hastily with a little smile. "Just… asking you to make it easier on me by not doing that."

"But you are Elsa. I… I'll try, but I'm really serious when I say I say 'Mom' like it's a four-letter word, because… she just never tried to understand me, never let me be who I am. We fought all the time and it got really nasty. You're not her. That's a good thing, but it does make it hard for me to call you that."

"Oh. Well… I suppose it would be silly to be upset over you liking me more than you liked her," Elsa chuckled. "Though I have to worry about _how_ you like me."

Hanging her head, Anna looked at her hands for a moment. Tried to fight her way through a mental gauntlet of desires. "I… do want… you to be my mom, but I'm worried that it's too late. Like, I kinda wrote off having a good mom a long time ago, so it feels so great to have you but it also feels like… a lie? I'm really sorry, Mom, I'm not trying to be a butt, I just want you to know how I'm-"

"I know," she breathed, rubbing up and down Anna's back now. She could have melted. Somehow, it felt both exciting and calming at the same time. "Honey, I understand. I may be the only one in this family who does, or ever will. But I'm proof that you can work through it."

"But what if I…?" Anna bit her lip. No, she wouldn't burden her mother with this. Perhaps Elsa knew what she was going to say, because she didn't ask for her to continue.

Actually, Elsa didn't say anything at all. She just kept rubbing the Anna's arm, letting her daughter relax more fully against her. It was… soothing. Nice. Unfamiliar and soft, and for perhaps the first time Anna felt something akin to love for a mother.

Of course, it was still drowned by the love she held for Elsa. And she couldn't see that changing any time soon.

"Mmmm…" Of course, she knew that deviated slightly from the familial reaction she should have given, but it was still relatively mild.

"So. You have school tomorrow, and you and the Punzel girl had a good night last night. Want to talk about either of those topics? Might… be a little easier on you."

"You can tell that?" Elsa only gave her a look, and Anna felt her face warming up again. "Y-yeah, I guess you're the one who could tell best."

"I'm glad you're moving on, Anna. Really." A little self-effacing chuckle burbled out of her, which made Anna turn more fully to sit in her direction. "Oh, I was just thinking… I used to worry that I would be jealous of anyone else you dated. But then I realised I would never be 'losing' you; just… sharing you with whoever you end up with. Like most mothers have to."

That warmed her heart, but Anna still couldn't help nudging her with her elbow. "You, jealous? Didn't expect that. You didn't even seem jealous of Punz in the 80s."

"Are you kidding?! I could have snatched her bald!" They both giggled. "If she wasn't out of reach thirty years in the future, I mean. But… even then, I just thought I could I could win you over by out-gaying her. And I was right, wasn't I?"

"Totally were." They shared a warm smile. For Elsa, the memories were old and faded, part of her past; for Anna, fresh and alive. "I… y-yeah, Mom, it was amazing. I can't believe I was your first!"

Finally, the topic seemed to be catching up to her mother, but she also was seemingly trying not to overreact again. "You were. Not the last, however… there have been other women."

Anna's eyes bugged out. "There have?! WHO?!"

"Another time," she told her firmly, though the mischievous smile said there was much to tell. "Go to bed."

"Can you cuddle me to sleep?" Anna said with an exaggerated pout.

"NO. But if you promise to stay still once I tuck you in, maybe I'll kiss you goodnight. On the forehead."

So Anna obeyed. She crawled under the covers again, pulled them up to her chin, and then let Elsa lean over her and kiss her forehead. Trying not to enjoy it was difficult but she did manage it, only just being glad that her mother was acting like a mother for once.

"Goodnight, my Anna."

"Goodnight, Els- I mean… Mom." After that, despite all her confusion and conflicting feelings, the excitement of the week before, she felt a lot more predisposed to sleep.

~ o ~

The worst part about a good night's sleep was the fact that, at some point, one had to wake up. Anna jolted up at 6:45, the sound of her phone alarm blaring in her ears. It had only been a week, really, and yet she was already terribly out of routine. Shower, clothes, breakfast, then the almost-hour-long walk to school.

She was just wolfing down the last of her toast and heading towards the door when a sudden voice stopped her. "Anna? What are you doing?"

She very nearly choked, and after a few hacking coughs she finally answered with a, "Huh?"

"You heard me," Elsa said, decked out in a nice sleeping gown and fluffy slippers. Anna shrugged, her expression a mix between a frown and utter confusion. Maybe a little terror because it sort of felt like she had been caught sneaking out, even though that was silly.

"Um… going to… school?" she said. Wasn't that obvious? Obviously not. Elsa's eyes flicked towards the kitchen, and the clock hanging on the wall. God it was already 7:10 – she was going to be late!

"You're leaving very early," Elsa commented – and sure it wasn't eleven in the morning and her mother hadn't just woken from a drunken stupor, but still. It really wasn't early at all.

"It's really not, Mom," Anna said. "It's a 45 minute walk-"

"Why are you walking? Wouldn't you just drive?"

Oh yeah. Anna just looked at her for a second before letting her rucksack slip from her shoulders. "You mean I could have had another half-hour of sleep?" she cried. "Ugh."

Elsa laughed. It wasn't like Kristoff's, full-bodied and loud. It was just a giggle – one that had her covering her mouth and being generally adorable. "Sweetie. You really did have a different life, didn't you?" Then she approached and patted her shoulder. "Well, since you're up this early, you might as well get a start on your chores."

Slumping against the nearest wall, she groaned, "Yeah, might as well." But Elsa was fixing her with another look. "What NOW?"

"I'm _kidding_. You really think I'm going to heap more chores on top of you, after the week you've had?" She walked over and loaded up the coffee machine with one of those tiny little cups of single-serve coffee – the kind her family could never afford to even look into. "Sit, sit. Might as well just relax for an extra ten minutes, then take a leisurely drive to pick up Jennifer."

_Pick up Jennifer._ Of course they would have been going to school together. Probably every day. "I… well, okay."

"So. If you don't want to tell me about how things went at the lake, how about telling me some of the things I don't already know about your… supernatural journey? Like how it even happened in the first place."

Anna pursed her lips. "How about before I tell you anything, you tell me about some of these other chicks you've been banging?"

"Anna!" But she was laughing. Exasperated laughter, but it was laughter. "A little decorum, maybe?"

"Spill, Mom. I'll tell you about Punz later."

"Alright. I was exaggerating, though; I can count the number of 'chicks' on one hand. Only when you were around four or five did I finally start getting the confidence to… well, date around. Until then, I still felt like it would be 'cheating' on Kristoff, even though he always assured me he didn't mind. Since he's always understood my sexuality isn't purely straight – or even mostly straight."

Anna nodded. That was pretty obvious. She wondered, briefly, if John and Wendy knew of their mother's adventures in 'exploring one's sexuality'. After all, they would have been old enough to realise, if what Elsa was saying was true.

"So, you and Dad…?"

Elsa's smile slipped a notch. "I told you. We still care about each other, and we are friends. But the physical aspect of our relationship petered out long ago."

Anna's eyes widened. "Ohh…. so when you say you're mostly not-straight, you mean… all-in on the gay train?"

At that, Elsa's smile once again returned. She gave a shrug that Anna wanted to define as 'coy', and said airily, "Sure, Anna."

Wow. Honestly it was a miracle her _brother_ had been born, let alone her. Why on earth would they have had three kids if Elsa was… not particularly fond of the act that resulted in them? Anna couldn't imagine doing what she did.

Her disbelief must have shown on her face because Elsa was suddenly shaking her head. "I did, and still do, care for your father. And don't think I merely… put up with him because a stranger told me to when I was a teenager."

"How does he feel about this? Last I saw, he was head over heels for you."

"Oh, he is. What's made this marriage work was that… well, it's kind of your doing," she admitted, head tilting slightly. "You showed us how much we had in common, and how important that was. Sharing those hopes and dreams made us from friends into life-partners. And for a while after you left, and especially after John was born, I tried to convince myself that we were in love and that was enough, but…"

Anna inched a little closer, enough that she could take up Elsa's hand and squeeze it gently. "But you still like the ladies. Is it… with dad, did you have to make yourself…"

"Don't think of it as that difficult. It's just… we cared for each other. It's more like a fluke between two best friends that you kind of laugh about later, except it was several dozen flukes."

"But not true love? Oh…" Anna sighed. "Now I feel kind of selfish for making sure you ended up together just so I could be born."

At that, Elsa pulled Anna into a hug immediately. No waiting. "Don't you ever think that. Don't ever, _EVER_ think that, Anna! I've had a wonderful, full life. A little weird at times, but nobody's life gets to be picture perfect. But I would rather end up living that awful life where I'm an alcoholic than lose you!"

Again, she had to pretend not to be filled with Elsa's enticing scent. Now, it was just her and a light tinge of sleep-sweat, day-old vestiges of perfume… and she still found it as exciting as comforting.

"Love you," was all she managed to whisper. As they broke apart, she cleared her throat to hold back more tears; she had been doing too much of that lately. "So okay, the women these past… what, ten years?"

Elsa's smile had been warm, but it turned a little more catlike as she turned back to the coffee maker. "Well… you've already met one of them. During your trip."

"Really? I mean… wait, so Jazz?" A little shake of her head. "Ariel?"

"Yes. She asked me out while we were in college and very drunk. I wasn't ready – not at all, despite your best efforts! Then a few years ago, she was on a 'break' with Eric, and… I remembered that, so… I'm surprised you don't remember her spending a little more time around here than usual. Though, you were a bit preoccupied." Anna lifted an eyebrow in question, and Elsa shrugged. "It was around the time that Jennifer moved to your school. You were quite… enamoured."

At that, Anna folded her arms over her chest and fixed her mother with a piercing gaze. "So the redhead, hmm? Seems like I'm not the only one with a type."

At that, a gorgeous blush rose to Elsa's cheeks. "It was one woman, Anna!" she cried out. Anna nodded.

"Uh-huh. That's two for two, though – just like me, apparently. Who else was there?"

"Oh, no one you would know…"

With a snort, Anna leaned down to pick up her schoolbag. "That just means the other chicks were probably also gingers. Did they have freckles, too?"

She struck a pose. Instead of laughter, however, her mother looked away, cheeks red. Obviously, this wasn't something they could joke about yet. When she didn't speak, and the silence grew heavy, Anna coughed.

"I, uh, better go and pick up Punz," she suggested, looking down.

Elsa jumped on the subject change. "Oh, yes. I have, er, errands and such, too. Don't forget that you have band practise at Merida's this afternoon." Anna nodded. "Okay."

"Okay. Um… bye, Els- _Mom."_

"Bye, sweetheart."

Band practice. That was hopefully something else that hadn't changed. She hoped other-version her wasn't better at playing or singing than she was – that would be a pretty bad tell if she was suddenly shit.

Well, _more_ shit.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See if you can spot the BTTF3 reference!

"You're awfully quiet this morning."

The inside of Anna's truck had been like a coffin until halfway to school. She felt bad about it, but wasn't sure what else to do. How could she explain to Punz what she had been through in the past week – a week that didn't exist to her?

"Um… so let's just say…" Clearing her throat, she redoubled her grip on the steering wheel. "This is gonna be pretty weird. And not just 'I might be gay' weird, but more like the 'aliens melted my brain' variety. Bear with me?"

The quick glance showed her that Jennifer was looking confused, right on cue. "Um… yeah, okay, I'm with you. Like the Doc's version of strangeness."

"Exactly! Exactly that, like the Doc. In fact, let's say… hypothetically, one of his crazy inventions worked."

Punz let out a little cackle. "Hah, yeah, okay. No wonder you're apprehensive – it's hard to believe you from the first sentence!" Anna glared at her from the corner of her eye. There was no real malice there, but Punz still made a showing of zipping her lip. "Sorry. Continue."

Clearing her throat, Anna nodded. "Okay, so, one worked – hard as that is to believe. And we managed to do a successful test with a live control, but then other stuff happened and basically I had to use it and it has literally changed my life."

"Okay, um… look, Anna, whatever it is… I'm not gonna be like… mad or anything." At that, Anna gave a dry laugh. "What?"

"You can't say that, you don't know what it is yet. Or what I did."

"Look, it's not going to be anything completely bananas like a time machine or something."

Anna's laugh was strangled and her hands failed to keep the wheel quite steady. Punz stiffened visibly in the seat next to her. Anna's expression was mildly panicked.

"Anna…" Punz slowly turned to face her, her expression morphing into a one of shock and concern. "Are you… feeling okay?"

"Fine! Fine. Yep." She sounded anything but, her eyes fixed on the traffic in front, her face a rictus of normality.

"So what was it then? The invention?" A sliding note of concern was edging into Punz's voice.

"Well… I mean…. what if it _was_ a time machine?"

This time, Punz didn't laugh. She just fixed her girlfriend with an unimpressed look. "Come on, be serious here."

"Stick with me. Like, say he invented a time machine. It's built into a car-" She had to ignore a snort "-and it runs on nuclear energy. A-and say that I had to use it to escape with my life, because Doc pissed off the wrong people to get the power for the experiment."

"Anna, this is pretty-"

"And say it took me back to the eighties, and then I was stuck there, and my phone didn't work, and my dad was a creeper, and there were kinds of Coke I'd never heard of, and my mom looked like Aimee Mann, and I had to say 'rad' all the time, and Hans was pretty much a rapist, and I was scared to death I'd never get home! Wh-what if… what if I told you that all happened? Would you like, call the police and tell them I'm a lunatic, or what?"

It took her a second or two to answer. "I'd say that at least you aren't your own grandpa because of some wacky time traveling oopsie." Punz laughed in a more relaxed manner, clearly having decided this was some kind of joke.

"So you think I've just been watching too many cartoons. Fine… it's fine, don't worry. Just wondered what you would think."

As they pulled into the school parking lot and came to a stop, Jennifer reached over and placed a hand on Anna's arm. "Okay. So… what it sounds like to me is, Doc invented some kind of… really, really intense VR? Or a new drug. Is… that where you were going with that? You tested this out for him and now it's got you all fucked up in the head?"

Nodding, she let out a long, shaky breath. "Yeah. Let's go with that."

"Anna…" Now, her voice was smaller, more genuinely concerned. And she hated it. She wanted to reassure her and yell out "April Fool!", anything but actually tell her the unfiltered truth.

"We're gonna be late for class. Um… can we table this until after? Or lunch or something."

Pressing her lips together, she sighed and shrugged. "Okay. But you can tell me anything, okay? Literally. I might not believe you off the bat, but I'll listen. Promise promise promise."

Anna believed her, but their conversation in the car had put her in a bad mood. She'd expected it – the backlash. The disbelief. Didn't mean that it didn't hurt though.

How was she going to get Punz to believe her? It was starting to feel like a necessity: she needed Jennifer to know and understand and say, "Man that's fucked up but I'm here for you." Anna stopped short on the steps of the school. Punz paused too, turning to look at her, but Anna was a million miles away. Until that moment she hadn't realised how desperate she was for that. More than her weird relationship with her mother, more than her intimacy with Punz… she needed their _acceptance_. Acceptance of what happened and her related feelings.

It was like she was twelve again, trying desperately to find the words to describe how she felt about girls and not about boys. The terror of 'I know my parents love me but _what if?_'

Goddamn she needed to see Doc again. Maybe Punz could have a nice chat with him, too…

~ o ~

Classes felt even longer than usual. Anna spent most of them staring out the window and double-checking with herself that she was really sane, and had endured all the insanity that she accepted as fact. No matter how much a hallucination or weird VR experience would comfort Jen, it was not the truth. And that sweet girl deserved no less than the truth. The trick was getting her to believe it. Thinking back, Anna probably shouldn't have started with "hypothetically", even if it was a good way to broach a tough conversation.

Her only saving grace seemed to be that Jennifer hadn't told any of their other friends. Merida would have laughed and cracked a few puns, and Anna definitely didn't think she could cope with that. By the time lunch was over, Anna was feeling much more normal.

Until Mr. Weselton appeared.

"Well, well, Miss McFly. What are we up to this time?" His mustache twitched back and forth as he stood blocking her way.

"Uhhh… going to class?" He shook his head. "Not going to class? I mean, okay, but if I'm not then I'm really curious what I'm doing here."

"Oh, I wonder that every time I see you. But this isn't an existential debate. You forgot to attend a very important meeting, didn't you?"

Anna had to squint at him for a few seconds before it caught up to her. Both of her teal orbs squeezed shut in a silent cringe.

"Detention."

She almost argued. Almost.

"Because of your tardiness," he said, spittle flying, "You're going to have to make it up. After school." And with that he was off, scolding other kids for holding hands or turning up their sleeves. Finally free of his glare, Anna let out a groan.

"What the hell – when did I get a detention?" she asked, turning to her friend. Punz looked at her, puzzled.

"On Friday, when you attached fishing line to his toupee and dragged it around school?" she said. "Honestly, I still think you were lucky not to be suspended. It was only because Principal Oaken couldn't stop giggling that you got off as easily as you did. Why didn't you just go?"

But Anna wasn't listening. Not really. She was too busy chuckling at the picture it painted – which was not one she remembered vividly from her own memory. "Man, that sounds like a good one."

"Yeah, yeah," Punz snorted with a roll of her eyes. "But the fact remains, you did the crime and now you have to do the time."

"What are you, my dad?" That one came out naturally; Kristoff was the type to say a phrase like that regardless of the timeline. "But alright, I'll go to detention. I swear, if he wasn't always on my case, I'd think I really was going crazy."

~ o ~

So Anna attended her punishment. It was only an hour, because the school had to get special permissions to keep children after 5 P.M. so it seemed easier just to let them go then. She rode out the time by writing down a few things in her notebook about her experiences. Thinking of her father again, she scrawled 'STORY IDEAS' at the top so that if anyone else found it, they wouldn't realise she had actually lived out any of the things she was jotting down. Fortunately, the detention meant she could play hooky with band practise, and instead use the time to follow through with her idea from earlier.

Swinging by Café 80s to pick up Punz, the two of them drove over to Doc's. Punz still looked highly skeptical, but she hadn't laughed once since Anna made it clear that this was important to her. It was a positive sign, at least.

"Alright, now," she muttered quietly as she fished the spare key out from under the side doormat. "I… did call him on my way over to get you, but he never picked up. So I'm not sure if he's in."

But he was. The DeLorean was parked with a large tarp over it in the garage, and Doc Pabbie was dressed in something akin to 'normal' clothing: a drab grey suit with a moss-green pocket square. He was also reclining in his easy chair, reading his way through a scientific journal of some kind or another.

"Ah, Anna," he said genially, turning to smile at them. "And Miss Punzel – it's been quite a while since you've rode sidecar."

Neither of them knew what 'rode sidecar' meant, but Anna guessed he meant since she visited. "Yeah. Um… so you got my missed call, I guess?"

To her surprise, he shook his head. "Nope. I just had a feeling you'd be around today with Miss Punzel. I would ask what has brought you to my door, but I have a feeling I can guess."

That would have been great, except now it seemed like a rehearsed skit. Punz even looked over to Anna, eyebrow raised. There was nothing she could say, so she just marched right on in.

"Why did you think we'd be around today?"

Pabbie clambered from his chair, stepping past them and walking back towards the DeLorean. "Well, considering the week you've had, and the weekend you had planned, I merely extrapolated from the available- that is, I _guessed_ that you would tell Miss Punzel of our experiment. She, naturally, wouldn't believe you, so you would bring her here to get me to convince her."

Wow. He was right. Damn scientists and their processes of elimination.

Anna was saved from having to actually find a reply when Punz stepped forward. "Sorry, Mister, uh… Doc," she said. Anna suppressed a snort – Jen never had been quite as comfortable around Doc as she had. No one was, really. "I'm sure you both put a lot of effort into this prank, but… well, you can't honestly expect me to believe you, can you? Like, if this is some elaborate scheme to break up with me, what's the point? All you have to do is tell me you don't like me and don't want to see me anymore. At least that would be respectful!"

"I don't quite expect you to believe _me,_ no," Doc began. "Though I would hope you can trust Anna enough to give her the benefit of a doubt." Punz looked away, shame filling her face. Anna glared at Doc, but he didn't seem to notice. "And if that fails, I'm sure she still has the video on her phone from the experiment with Olaf."

"Hey, that's right!" Anna interrupted. "And the letter – your letter!"

Punz arched an eyebrow. "Letter?"

"I don't know if that'll matter, Anna. I mean, only because anybody can write a letter about anything they wanted." But Anna was already pulling out her phone, grabbing the video she had made sure to copy over once she got back to modern equipment, so Doc fell silent and merely looked on as she pulled up the video.

And Jen watched it. Anna could tell the scientific explanations were washing right over her head, but when the car started moving by remote control, she paid a little closer attention. Then when it disappeared, she blinked a few times, but then sighed and turned to them.

"Okay, this is… creative, but I've seen Vines like this. I'll admit, it's really… really well done." There was definite doubt in her voice; she wasn't firmly committed to disbelief, but wasn't convinced yet, either.

"It's not a Vine. Like… okay, Punz, I know. It sounded like wacko bullshit to me, too, but I swear to God it's a hundred per cent real."

Her finger flicked the video back to the moment the DeLorean disappeared, and she watched it again. Then to the end, where Doc was screaming for Anna to run for it. "So… okay, I have a lot of questions."

"I'm afraid I won't be able to answer all of them," Doc told her, in a firm but not unkind voice. "Anna is my assistant, and even she doesn't know all of the particulars of how time travel works. But the rest I must keep under lock and key. Wouldn't do to have the technology too widespread. But we can still chat about the basics, of course."

"Fine," Jennifer crossed her arms, looking between the two warily. "Like, the only reason I'm even entertaining the idea that this isn't a Vine, like Anna claims, is because she's terrible at doing effects like these. Couldn't even get the Powerpoint presentation working on our tenth grade class project. The only way for her to pull off something like this off and make it look like it's actually happening is either because of pure luck, or you got some whiz kid to do it, or… because it's actually real."

"Hey!" Anna frowned in offense, even while a part of her was relieved that there was something that Punz was using as proof to believe her. "I'm not that bad."

"Oh yeah? Don't you remember the one music video you and Merida tried to make? The one where you wanted to make a firework effect go off at the end but somehow you managed to make the effect go off throughout the entire thing? You also made so many of the effects go at once that you caused your computer to crash because it couldn't handle the continuous lag." Punz gave her a small smirk. "It took us a week to get it fixed. And you know I have at least five more examples."

Anna cringed at the embarrassing memory. "Yeah, okay, I suck." Almost immediately, Punz's expression went back to being pensive.

"So anyway… how long have you two been working on this little… experiment, exactly?"

"The past thirty years," Doc went on with a slight shrug. "Although, originally I would have said Anna had only been assisting me with it for a few weeks, I think recent events have changed the length of employment - even if she wasn't offering _continuous_ contributions."

"Interesting… but I mean, I'm sure you can see how I'd be skeptical. This is a lot to take on faith. Like, how would that even work? Time only moves in one direction."

"You aren't thinking fourth-dimensionally. Much the same as the sky was not open to us before we learned to use wind resistance to defeat the laws of gravity, we only need to… well, the point is, there is always a way. Science just has to catch up to Mother Nature before it can best her."

"Wish you could have seen it, Jen," Anna sighed, leaning back and staring at the ceiling. "Dell Valley… it was so different. Freaky."

"Ah, and I have something for you." Hopping up and sprinting to one of his bookshelves, Doc nipped out a tall book, covered in red leather. A white outline of a bulldog also graced the cover, along with the date "1985".

"What's this?" Anna said, reaching for it – but Doc was flipping through it himself already, so she waited. Then he put it into her hands, tapping the page and gesturing for Jennifer to look with his other hand.

"Recognise anyone you know?"

At first, her girlfriend only shook her head at the strange outfits. But then she saw the picture he had pointed to… and her eyes focused on someone on the stage at the homecoming dance.

"I… that's you! Wait, but… I mean, this can't be real. It has to be some Photoshop job."

"It's not Photoshop, it's photography," Doc said baldly. "And I'm still upset with the level of timeline pollution, but it couldn't be helped by that point."

"It's me, Punz," Anna confirmed, petting along the page. She wished Elsa was in one of the pictures, but even so, it was fun to see herself in her terrible prom outfit, minus her shoes, playing her heart out. Maybe she could still manage to repeat history in her own time.

But then she realised – there _was_ a picture with both of them. Fishing out her wallet, she quickly located where she had slipped the Polaroid. It had not lived there very long, after all.

"Check _that_ out."

Poor Jennifer Punzel looked far more shocked to be gazing at an image of a very young, very excited Elsa Baines. And right next to her was an uncomfortable looking Anna. The picture looked brand new, but the technology and outfits were distinctly dated.

"No… guys…" But she didn't keep naysaying, only frowned harder at the picture clutched in her fingers. "Okay, so this is pretty cool, and the video… I'll try to believe it's real, too. But I mean, why would you need to travel through time? What's the point in going to the past, especially? The future, I can kinda understand; that'd be dope, finding out where humanity's going to be a hundred years from now…"

"It wasn't intentional," Anna informed her, "Doc set the time to the 80s as an example, and when those thugs attacked us… well, I wasn't exactly in the right state of mind to switch it. So I ended up in the past. Whoops!"

"And as to why we would need to travel through time," Doc began manically, "Why! Just think of the possibilities, young Jennifer! There are so many potential uses for this!" Doc looked so excited, his eyes twinkling with such a glee that both girls took steps back in case he began to dance or something. He began to pace instead, his arms gesturing as he went on a long spiel that neither girl was particularly into listening to.

"Okay, so, say I believe you." Punz leaned over to Anna, casually ignoring Doc and his rant on timeline dilation and refraction. Or something. "You just… popped to the past and then came back. I don't see what the issue is."

Anna grimaced. This was where it was going to get hairy. "The issue is that… I had to spend a week in 1985 because the car wouldn't work. I mean, it _would_ work, but the time-travelling thingy didn't. It takes a lot more juice than just gas, yknow? So while we were figuring out how to get me back to my future, I was there for a week, and I… met someone."

Punz's eyes widened. "You did? Wait, that's the girl you um… yeah. Okay. But that's all in the past now – literally."

At that, Anna nodded. Biting her lip, she hedged, "Well… technically… yes…"

Doc had seemingly tuned into their conversation by now. "Stating for the record here and now that I was _very much __against_ any meddling in the timeline, for reasons which will eventually become clear. But to Anna's credit, none of her meddling was intentional; once I explained the concept of time paradoxes, she tried to avoid such events, however meager her efforts proved."

"Thanks a bunch, Doc," she grunted.

"Meddling?" Punz asked. "I don't understand."

"Well… say you go back and accidentally keep your parents from meeting. If they don't meet, they can't fall in love, and they can't have children. Can't have you. So then, um… what's the word again? Paradox?" Doc nodded. "Right. If your parents never give birth to you, how can you go back in time and stop them from giving birth to you? It can't happen, so it's kinda… really horrible. Like, world-destruction horrible. It's like what happens when you smash all the keys on an old-timey typewriter at once; it can't handle that and the keys jam."

Already nodding along, seemingly pleased with how bright his assistant was despite not being a scientist herself, Doc put in, "Of course there are other theorems which state no events can unfold which were not already predestined, and therefore time travel in and of itself was preordained from the beginning. But I mostly think of those as hogwash – though of course if they proved correct, I would be forced to accept their validity."

"I'm… this is a lot to swallow." But from the fear in her eyes, Jennifer definitely seemed to be growing more open to believing them than she had been when she got there. "And I admit, the video and the yearbook together, that Polaroid… I mean, it all looks legit."

"I swear to God, Punz, we're telling the truth. Part of me wishes I wasn't, but we are. It's just… a really weird truth."

"Oh geez," she said, swaying on the spot. "I need to sit down…"

Anna surged forward, grabbing her arm and guiding her to a seat. "Sorry," she said. "I really shit the bed on this one."

Tenderly, Punz reached up a hand and pat Anna's cheek. "It's okay," she said, running her thumb across the soft skin. "Obviously whatever fuckup happened, you fixed it. Right?"

Anna looked away, giving a nervous cough. "R-right."

"Anna?"

She let out a sigh through her nose. Doc made a show of trying to sidle from the room; unfortunately for him, he wasn't looking where he was going and tripped over something that sounded expensive. It didn't distract Punz for long – a glance in his direction before turning her gaze back to Anna.

"Remember… I said I met a girl…"

Jen's eyes widened. "Holy shit… Anna… it wasn't my mother was it?"

Eyebrows furrowed, Anna just looked at her. "What?"

"Well you're being all weird about it!" Punz cried. "Which means I probably know her and- and ew my _mom_, Anna?"

"It wasn't your mother!" Exasperation laced her tone. "Don't worry. Far as I know, I didn't even see her at all while I was there."

"O-oh," Punz said, ears burning red. "That would be because they… dinmrv…" she trailed off in a mumble, and finally a smile twitched at Anna's mouth.

"What was that?" she asked, leaning forward. Punz sighed.

"We didn't move to Dell Valley until I was in the fourth grade," she admitted. "Remember? So you wouldn't have seen my parents. Anyway, who was it then?"

Now they had reached the truly challenging part. Unbidden, the image of her mother's face between her own thighs swam into Anna's memory, and she knew it wouldn't take long dwelling on that for her cheeks to turn pink so she forced the image away. Not that it was easy. She was supposed to be telling Jennifer the truth, not examining her own mental state from when the incident happened. No, that would come later. Over and over for the rest of her life.

"Yeah. Soooooo…" Might as well get it over with. "Ikindamademymomcrushonmeokay?"

This time, Doc really did leave the room, and much more soundlessly. He was already edging out into the garage when Punz asked, "What?"

It had been too hard to say it the first time. As she usually tended to do, Anna tried to be cheerful and gloss over how awful the implications were, letting out a nervous little chuckle. "You know, shit happens sometimes, and… I mean, there's this whole thing about attraction, and separated family members, and…"

"Enough double-talk. What did you say the first time? It almost sounded like… your mom."

Something akin to panic was brewing in her sparkling green eyes, but she was suppressing it… so far. But not forever. That was too much. Anna cleared her throat, looked around, then got up to start walking out the front door. She wasn't running exactly, but for whatever reason she simply could not sit still on Doc's couch anymore and see those eyes stabbing into her.

"Anna! Hey, what- HEY!"

Once outside, she gripped the side of the truck bed and took a few deep breaths. But she couldn't seem to get enough air. On top of that, she felt silly for overreacting when Punz hadn't even said anything negative about it yet, but just the idea that she might was horrifying to her. She didn't want to feel this shame, didn't want to fall in the eyes of her girlfriend, the woman she had been expecting to take on many more dates. To take to their senior prom. To…

Growling, she brought her hand back, punching the metal with the palm of her hand. It hurt like a bitch, and tears sprang to her eyes. It wasn't from the pain. This whole afternoon had been a mistake.

"Anna!" Punz cried, finally catching up. She hovered, a little way away – she'd probably seen Anna's outburst and figured the safest place was not right next to the angry redhead. God. Yet one more thing she had to apologise for later. If Punz ever decided to speak to her again.

But Punz didn't say anything. She didn't move forward or back, either – she just stood there, watching Anna. Finally it became too much, and Anna croaked out an "I'm sorry…" that sounded so much more pathetic than it was.

"Oh God."

And _there_ was the negative reaction. Anna squeezed her eyes shut, head falling to rest on her hands where they pressed against the car metal. "I'm sorry," she said again. It took a few seconds to get a reply, but Anna was grateful when she did. For a moment.

"That's- that's okay, Anna. I mean. She didn't know who you were, right? And it's not like anything… happened…" Silence. More was sinking in. "You- you said. At the lake…"

Still not looking, Anna nodded. What words could she give this moment? How could she explain it – her feelings, her mother's? So, she just whispered, one last time, "Sorry…"

She didn't see Jennifer leave, there were no further words. Just heard footsteps a minute or so later, then heard the distant sounds of someone being sick in the bushes off to one side of Doc's house. Of course, she could try to fool herself that it wasn't Punz, that it was coincidence…

_'What did you expect?'_ she demanded of herself as she slumped on the hood of the car. After a few more sniffles, she forced herself to crawl into the truck cab. She couldn't drive yet, but she could at least close its doors and muffle the sounds of her sobs. _'Punz is not a complete freak like you are. She'd never do that. Nothing in the world could make her cross that line the way you did. So no wonder she thinks you're disgusting.'_

The thoughts swirled around and around in her head as she beat her forehead against the steering wheel. Should she try to drive off, anyway? No, that would leave Punz without a ride. Doc might offer her a lift, but he was part of the madness; she might reject that. She might reject Anna and walk home after this was all said and done.

But finally, ten or twenty or who knew how many minutes later, the passenger door clicked open. Without looking up, she could tell Punz wasn't the same as she had been before they came to Doc's house. That _they_ weren't the same.

"Um… I have homework… so… i-if you can't drive m-" A quiet retching noise. "If you can't drive me, it's okay. You look upset. I'm… I'll walk…"

"No, I can get you home," she sighed as she scrubbed at the tear tracks on her cheek, digging for her keys. She dropped them into the floorboard, then bumped her head when she tried to stoop down and retrieve them.

The tears came afresh. For the first time in her life, she cried in front of Punz and didn't feel arms around her right away. And the worst part is, there was no earthly way she could even be mad about it. What would she do if their places were reversed?

Finally, she did feel a hand in the middle of her back. "Sorry," was all Jennifer could offer for now. But it was strained, and real, and the word broke in the middle. She rarely said anything she didn't mean, so she must have really meant this small scrap of sympathy.

Anna simply nodded, starting the car. She was able to stop the tears from building at her eyes on the way there, however her entire drive home was spent sobbing, stopping on the side of the road each time it became a little too intense.

Of course, when she got home, she had to face it. Face Elsa herself.

~ o ~

"Anna?" she called out from the kitchen. Elsa, for her part, seemed to be in good spirits. Why wouldn't she be? From her perspective, everything had gone great that morning and there was no reason to believe otherwise. "How was band practice?"

No answer. Anna dragged herself into the bathroom to lock the door and sob some more. Even tried to throw up, like Punz had done, but it didn't really work. She wasn't _disgusted_, just sad.

A soft knock came a little while later. "Anna, honey… are you alright in there?"

"NO! Go away!" It was stupid to lash out at her for this, but she didn't have anything else to grab onto at the moment.

"Can you let me in?" The doorknob jiggled; Anna stayed where she was, sitting on the edge of the tub. "Alright… I'm sorry. I can go."

And she did. Anna let her, because she didn't know what she could say that wouldn't be accusing Elsa of things that weren't her fault. So she stayed in there, by herself, sobbing into a washcloth.

An hour later, she finally dragged herself into her bedroom. Elsa didn't come by right away, but about ten minutes after, a knock at the door frame announced her.

"Can I come in, or would you rather I not?"

"Sure," she groaned. By now, she was past the racking, all-over-the-body sobs and the screaming into her hands. Her heart still wanted those things but she didn't have the energy left. Nor the energy to feel anything when Elsa sat down next to her.

"Sweetheart… I'm right here. Tell me whatever you want, or don't. And you can say whatever you want to me; I think you know that by now."

"I fucked up, Mom," she said – and she very much felt like it was a mother she was talking to, not… anyone else. "Big time. And now-" She had to pause for a second, eyes filling with tears once again. Fuck, hadn't she finished yet? "Now Jennifer probably hates my guts and never- never wants to see me again…"

"Jennifer?" Despite her initial surprise, Elsa moved past it. She leaned in close, and Anna felt warm arms wrapping around her shoulders. Elsa said nothing else, either, letting Anna speak at her own pace.

"I told her," Anna said when finally she could. It had taken a few minutes to compose herself, and she still wasn't really 'put together'. It was enough. "I told her about Doc and the DeLorean. Took her to see him because I couldn't keep it a secret. Not- not from her..."

Elsa's hand gently rubbed Anna's arm, soothing her as she listened. She could probably already guess where Anna was going with this, but she still said nothing.

"And- and then I told her that you- I met you. In the past. And I'd said some other stuff before and she put two and two together… I fucked up. So bad, and I don't know what I can do to make it better…"

"Oh, Anna…" Her voice wasn't disappointed or angry. Just sad on her behalf. "I don't know that there was much point in telling her this suddenly… but… well, I understand." Then she leaned down to kiss the top of her head. "And Jennifer might too, given time. Or she might not. Even if she doesn't…"

When Elsa didn't finish right away, she bit out, "What? What if she doesn't, Mom? I just ruined the only good thing I had!"

"Well, I was going to say 'it's not the end of the world', but you made me realise that's going to feel pathetic in the face of what you've been through today." Another squeeze of reassurance. "Relationships face these challenges all the time. Your father and I had our ups and downs, and even if we aren't truly 'married' anymore… we're still committed to our family."

For another minute or so, Elsa just let Anna cry. Then she rolled over and buried her face in her mother's neck. To both of their surprise, she blubbered out something she hadn't said since she was probably five years old.

"Why can't I just marry you?"

At that, Elsa snorted. "Because it's against the law, Anna. On top of a few dozen other very good reasons."

"I know… but you understand me. Punz doesn't, she can't – not after all this crap. No other girl will, either!"

"I'm not a girl, though. I'm a woman. I'm your mother. Besides, I can be pretty high-maintenance sometimes." Anna let out a wet laugh, and Elsa petted up and down the back of her neck. "I try to understand you. That's my only secret: trying. If it's not Jennifer, then someone else will."

Again, Anna was wrapped in a gentle blanket of scents, warmth echoing up into her body from the soft form beneath her. Temptations flared up, and she was just about wrung-out enough to give in. But she wanted the gentle comfort of a mother's love more than she wanted that, and so she simply clung there, like Elsa was the last piece of driftwood keeping her from going under.

"C-can you stay here tonight?" she asked softly when finally her tears subsided and she felt about as empty as her life seemed. Elsa's arm paused, just a brief stutter.

"Anna… that isn't a good-"

"Please, Mom. Just… _please_…"

Elsa didn't say anything else; she resumed rubbing Anna's arm, though, pulling her just a little tighter. That was all either of them could manage anymore.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Sensuality.

Anna didn't know when she fell asleep, but it was impossible not to notice when she awoke. There was a warm body next to her, and instinctively, she pressed into it. She let out a soft groan, more out of disappointment that she was waking up than anything else.

And there was an echoing sound from the body. More of a sigh than a moan, and clearly less coherent than the one Anna had let out. But it wasn't entirely removed from the realm of relaxed pleasure.

It only took a few seconds for everything to come crashing back down on Anna with the weight of a monster truck. Punz hated her. Well… maybe not, maybe she could see her way to forgiving her for being such a disgusting deviant. But at the very least, the 'honeymoon' of their relationship was dead, and barely after it began. All because she couldn't seem to resist her own mother.

Speaking of which…

Elsa stirred very slightly beside her, chest rising and falling as she lay sprawled out on the bed, one arm looped around Anna's back. That left her open for her daughter to curl around her in the way she was. She was still dressed in her yoga pants and soft blue blouse, which meant she never got up to change into her nightgown. A small flutter filled Anna's heart.

"Mom," she breathed softly, meaning it. Cherishing that word more than she ever had. Her cheeks bunched with the force of her relief. Even if she had made a mistake in the past, it had led to something so wonderful that she couldn't pretend not to be happy. At least about this part. She had a mother, a _proper_ one… and if that meant she had lost Punz, then… so be it. It would tear her apart inside, but she couldn't undo her actions now.

Again, still softly so as not to wake the slumbering woman, Anna leaned up and pressed her lips gently into her cheek. "Love you."

"Hmmhh," Elsa breathed, face only squirming for the briefest of seconds. All at once, Anna noticed her eyes moving behind the lids; she might have been dreaming. Then she muttered, "Tori…"

That threw her for a loop, and she went completely still. Tori? So her mother was dreaming about her? Or at least, dreaming about the idealised version of her that she saw through the lens of thirty years of nostalgia. She didn't fool herself for a moment that if this modern Elsa met Anna without knowing who she was, she would have been nearly so impressed with her 'radness'. Still… it was oddly thrilling to know she was in someone's dreams, no matter whose.

So she just pressed her face in further, breathing deep. Elsa smelled so good in the morning – like everything that made her _her_ had gathered in the night, making it all the more potent. She didn't want to move away; actually, she was pleasantly surprised when Elsa didn't stir, but moved closer still. It filled Anna with warmth, a feeling that felt strange after the previous night. It filled her with other things, as well, though one particular emotion was glaringly absent: disgust.

No matter what happened, she couldn't ever regret this. And she refused to hate herself, or Elsa, or even Punz, for what had gone down. Of course, it was all her fault: Anna had the information, and thus, the power to do what was right. She hadn't. No one else was to blame. It was so much better to just acknowledge her thoughts and feelings; categorise them under "not good things" and move on because what else was there to do?

She didn't know how long she weathered the sensations. Five minutes, an hour? A long while. But it was so early in the morning that neither her clock nor her phone had gone off yet. She didn't want to roll over and check the time; she wanted to lie like that in her mother's arms.

Of course, there was a small side effect. The scent combined with the warmth, the soft form she was wrapped around that was all too inviting, was starting to awaken her desires. Very slowly over time, but the speed didn't matter; she still ended up at the same place. Turned on by her mother.

But she was going to behave. Just like Elsa had said, having feelings didn't mean she had to do anything about them. Just because Elsa felt incredible, perfectly fitting within her arms, skin having felt so perfect under her lips when she kissed her cheek… then again when she kissed her neck…

Did she have to smell so good?

'_No!' _she swore at herself, pulling away. '_This is your MOM! Both of you agreed that you're gonna work on this, and you damn well better not undo that while she's not even awake, you freaking perv! Just woman up!'_

So Anna made herself behave. Her hand did smooth up and down Elsa's stomach very gently, but she figured that was practically G-rated compared to some of the thoughts swimming around in her mind.

Eventually, one of the pettings made Elsa hum a little louder, and she rolled to face Anna with a smile blossoming on her lips. Even without being quite awake yet, Anna thought it was adorable. Their noses bumped each other slightly. Elsa managed to murmur, "Mornin'", and Anna suppressed a giggle; the morning breath definitely helped to dispel the enchantment. It could have been worse – it could have been her old mother's liquor-laced morning breath. That had been truly atrocious.

Then Elsa kissed her gently, and her mind went blank.

It was so soft. The only thing Anna could focus on was the sensation of Elsa's lips, gently kneading against hers. She couldn't say no. It had been easy – well, _easier_ – to deny herself when she hadn't been lip-locked. When kissing her mother was something she could only experience in her imagination. But Elsa leaning forward and claiming her lips…

Anna didn't realise she'd moved until Elsa made a noise. It brought her down to earth – at least enough to realise that they'd moved – that Elsa was now lying more on top of her than next to her. Anna couldn't help herself. Her hips rolled upwards, hands coming to rest at Elsa's back. What had started as soft and gentle was rapidly becoming heated. Elsa's eyes were shut, and she was obviously enjoying the sensations.

Anna couldn't hold back the moan. "Elsa…"

"Mmm, Tori," she breathed. And she wasn't asleep. Maybe she wasn't fully alert yet, but this was no longer a dreaming Elsa who was completely unaware. Lips began to graze down along her neck and Anna let out a soft whimper.

"Wait, we… y-you should…" She should what? She wasn't sure what she had been going to say. Probably that she should wake up. That they should stop this before it got out of hand. She didn't want to, and she couldn't make herself speak, but she knew this wouldn't seem so innocent and kosher once they were both on the same level.

But her mother whispered "Shhh…" Hips were grinding back. It wasn't just Anna now; both sets of hips were moving. "You feel so… so good…"

"Elsa?" No reaction. Warmth was bleeding through from the union of her mother's thighs against one of her own, gliding up and down slightly with her movements. Warmth that matched hers. In the weak rays of sunlight barely peeking through her curtains, she could see golden strands of hair coming loose from Elsa's braid, and her ceiling looking down on her with judgment.

Then she realised her problem: she had been calling her _Elsa_. Not 'Mom'. But surely that wouldn't make any difference? Or maybe it would when she was this out of it. Her hands smoothed over Elsa's back and up to her shoulders as they shifted against one another, her heart leaping into her throat, trying not to think too much.

"Yes… mmhhh, Tori… don't stop…"

No, she had to think at least one last time before she let her brain go into standby completely. Before she gave herself over to her urges. She owed her mother that much. So she tried an experiment. "M-Mom? I… Mom, are you sure-"

But she didn't get a chance to finish that sentence before her alarm clock went off.

Nothing happened quickly. Elsa seemed reluctant to fully awaken, and Anna couldn't blame her. The lips still pressed against her throat, but they slowed down. Anna squeezed her eyes shut, unable to speak again – that first time had taken all of her self-control. But then Elsa _did_ stop, and she did realise. As soon as that happened, she was jerking up and away, off of Anna. Her arousal was glaringly obvious – Anna could see it, and feel her own. Her anger was equally evident… and pointed.

"To- Anna!" she cried, fighting a blush – this one leaned more towards embarrassment than arousal. The thought made Anna sadder than she would ever admit. "You- how long have you been awake for?"

What could she do? Lie? Say the alarm woke her up? No, Elsa would see right through that. "Elsa…"

"Don't use my name. You're in big trouble, young lady!" Elsa said, frowning. Anna felt her own fury rise.

"Don't use your 'mom' voice on me!" she retorted. _"You_ kissed _me!"_

"Because I didn't realise who you were," came the terse reply. "And I think you know that!"

Anna snorted and looked away. Hopefully Elsa thought it was her own anger because she actually just felt like crying again and she did _not_ want comfort this time. Not from Elsa. "You used my name. You knew it was me and you still did it. And now you're trying to blame me – not cool." Her voice grew thin and watery at the end. She still couldn't look up.

"I… what was I saying?" Now she looked a little frightened, fighting down panic. Anna felt all her rage leave her; of course she was angry. Of course she was upset that she had woken up doing the one thing she had sworn not to do.

"You… were calling me 'Tori' and asking me not to stop," she sighed, hoping that would be throwing her a bone. At least she hadn't been calling her 'Anna' the whole time.

However, it only seemed to make Elsa feel worse. She ran her fingers through her hair, pacing at the foot of Anna's bed. She clasped her hands a few times, then simply wrapped her arms around her stomach. Much like Anna, and very unlike Jennifer, she didn't seem to be sickened by them getting a little too close again. Only worried.

"I'm sorry," Anna said preemptively. "But I didn't do this. I woke up, and… and you felt so perfect, but I made myself stay still. A-and then you kinda… rolled on top of me and just… just went for it, and…"

Her mother's hands pressed into her face to hide it. "UGH. God, this is a nightmare. I've been doing so well, why did this have to happen again?"

_"__AGAIN__?!"_ But when Elsa's eyes widened at her slip, Anna softened her voice. She didn't want to make her mother look like that. Not at all. "S-sorry!"

"No, it's… I'm sorry, Anna." Clearing her throat, she whispered, "There have been… a few close calls these past couple of years. Since realising who you are. Nothing this serious, but I've fallen asleep on the couch after a long day, and you've come to wake me up… and I've whispered 'Tori' or made a weird moan, something like that, and you've laughed at me or said 'gross'. But that hasn't happened in a while." Almost to herself, she added, "I really thought I was past this…"

But Anna had stopped listening. Elsa… her feelings were still there? All this time, Anna had been thinking that Elsa really had gotten over it. That she alone harboured feelings, and only because they were still so fresh. To know that Elsa wanted the same was… well.

Validating.

That didn't mean this whole situation wasn't incredibly stupid and frustrating. So Anna did about the only thing she could think of: say something equally stupid. "We don't… _have_ to be past it."

Elsa jerked her head up. "What?"

Swallowing first, then coughing, Anna tried again. Her voice grew progressively quiet until it was no louder than a whisper. "What if we don't… move past this…" Looking up, she bit her lip. "I don't want to."

"Anna…"

"Look, I've already royally fucked up my life. The only-" she sniffled. "You're the only good thing I've got now…"

For a moment, Elsa did look a little conflicted. Between what and what, that was unclear. But then she took a long, deep breath and forced herself to speak in a mostly-steady tone.

"Of course you have me. Just not in the way you might think you want me, Anna. But please… I hope I've convinced you that just because I'm not interested in revisiting the past-"

"But what about-"

"-that will never mean I don't care about you," she finished stubbornly. "I love you so much, sweetie!"

"But you came onto me!" Anna protested. "Every time! And we have chemistry, you can't deny that after this!"

Her head shook from side to side, teeth digging into her lip. She had stopped pacing, and Anna could tell she was trying to hold her arousal down to a dull roar. Anna was doing the same thing, after all.

"Just… can you understand that just because I feel something, that memories and chemical reactions are making things difficult… I promise you that when I say I just want to be your mother, I'm not lying, I'm not trying to convince myself. I love being who we are to each other! And… y-yes, waking up like this makes things harder, but I'm not giving up. Please try to understand what I'm saying!"

Anna looked at her for a moment. "You- do you just want to be my mother?" she asked softly. "Because… yeah, I love that. Compared to what I had before, you not being a checked-out drunk is a huge difference. But I don't… I don't want you to _just_ be my mother."

Pinching her eyes shut, Elsa raised a hand and pressed her fingertips against her forehead. "But you can't want that," she said, barely more than a whisper.

"But I do," she argued. "And I can't change that and- and if you can't move past this after thirty years, then… then what hope do I have?"

"More!" Elsa cried, on the verge of tears. "You can actually change! You know who I am, you can-"

"What, hide my feelings?" Anna sighed. This was getting nowhere fast. "Look, do you maybe want to have breakfast and talk about this when we're more awake and have some time?"

Defeated, Elsa nodded. "Sure, I'll… I'll go and get breakfast started…"

"Okay. And um… it's gonna be okay. Right?"

"Right." But as her mother eased the door shut, she didn't look terribly sure at all.

~ o ~

A good twenty minutes later, Anna left the bedroom and washed up; used the toilet and got ready to face the day. To face Elsa. There had been something to take care of before she did, and she decided to make sure she gave that activity its proper time frame. Considering what almost happened, maybe it was for the best that she _purged the urge_.

The more she thought about it, the harder she found it to dislike the idea of actually being with Elsa. Sure, Elsa clearly hated it and hated herself for having such thoughts in the first place, but she also seemed to feel the same burning attraction that Anna felt – despite trying to cover it with layers of psychoanalysis and self-shaming. Anna didn't want that. She wanted to show Elsa that this meant too much to her to sweep it under the rug.

When she sat down at the table and saw pancakes, with a smiley face drawn on the top one with two pats of butter and a series of half-blueberries as the mouth, she felt her entire argument for them to be together flicker. Maybe Elsa was right. Maybe they should work harder on being mother and daughter… or at least give that aspect of their relationship a little more focus.

"Morning," Elsa said cheerfully, as if this was her first time seeing Anna that day. "How did you sleep?"

"Oh, is that what we're doing? Acting like everything's chill?"

"Well, I thought I'd give it a shot." She set down a cup of coffee at her place, then went back into the kitchen. "In case it's what you wanted."

"Nope," Anna sighed. "But… I think you were right about breakfast. Like, we'll eat for now, and keep things, um… professional. Familial? Whatever." Beginning to pour syrup over her pancakes, she went on, "S-so, um… do you want some help in there?"

"No, no, it's fine. Eat your pancakes, honey."

She returned shortly after, her own plate in her hands. It wasn't nearly as full, and there was no smiley face. The thought made Anna sad. She didn't have long to think on it – let alone comment – because soon Elsa was stuffing her face, glancing at Anna as an invite to do the same. The pancakes really did taste delicious, but it was hard for Anna to truly enjoy them with there being so much already on her mind.

Perhaps it was just that neither of them were especially hungry, either. Anna hadn't had anything to eat since lunch the previous day, and yet it didn't feel like that long. Her appetite had been nonexistent the previous night, and even now she still found it difficult to truly appreciate her food. It seemed Elsa was of a similar mind, because as Anna got up to take her plate to the sink, Elsa followed.

"Anna, I know…" Her mother sighed. "Sorry. I know things are weird right now, but I want you to know that, above everything… I'm your mother, and I love you." Facing away from Elsa as she was, Anna let herself cringe, eyes squeezing shut and biting her lip. So this was what it came down to. "And if you need a day off from school – like a mental health day or whatever – this week, then that is totally understandable."

"Wait, what?"

But Elsa continued. "And I was thinking… I had someone to talk to over the years. Maybe… that wouldn't be such a bad idea for you? IF you need it, of course…"

"You want me to see a shrink?"

"Don't say it like that, Anna," she said firmly. "There's nothing wrong with therapy."

"I'm not going crazy and I don't need my head examined. I'm…" Maybe that wasn't entirely accurate, but she knew she was just a sane person in a difficult situation. Not an insane person.

"Oh? So therapy is only for 'crazy' people? That's good to know."

Anna flinched at the frost that crept into her tone. Only then did she suddenly remember; Elsa had mentioned that she went to therapy, didn't she? That only made sense; she thought she was confusing her daughter with her high school girlfriend, after all. Now she felt awful. "Hey-"

"It's fine," Elsa cut her off before she could speak, and that somehow made Anna feel much worse. She couldn't even get an apology together fast enough. Her hands were busy pre-washing the pan and dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, but the set of her shoulders was tight, her movements jerky.

"Mom, I'm sorry." Swallowing hard, she tried again. "I didn't mean it like that, I just… I don't think I need a shri- a therapist. Like, I just love you. So if being in love makes me crazy…"

A long sigh. "I know you think you are, but you can't be. Not with me. I'm not worth that, honestly, even if I weren't your mother. But I am. We can't 'forget' it, we can't work around it. So… so that's just all there is to it."

"Don't." Anna's arms came to wrap around Elsa from behind, head buried between her shoulder blades. "Don't say that about yourself. You can't say that you aren't worth love, not to yourself, and especially not to me." Elsa barked a short, harsh laugh. Anna's tone turned semi-humorous through her faint tears. "Hey I mean, who knows you better than I do? After all, I knew you before even Dad did, and I say you are worth love. So there."

Now it was Elsa's turn to cry quietly, silent tears running down her cheeks and splashing onto her daughter's arms. Anna kept talking, hiccuping through her tears, but her voice holding steady.

"I can go see a therapist if you want… I'd do anything for you. Just… just trust me, okay? Don't do that thing where you think I can't 'handle' any of this, a-and make decisions and shut me out."

They stood there for a while, Anna unwilling to let go immediately. Eventually she did, taking a step back as her hands fell to her sides. After a few moments, after she had finished composing herself, Elsa turned to her.

"I can get her number if you like. Yes, I stopped attending sessions a while ago, but I've kept up with her practice… just… just in case."

Elsa smiled weakly. It occurred to Anna that this might be some kind of vindication for her if her daughter went to the same doctor, with the same problem. Perhaps it would help her feel better about the whole thing - that she wasn't alone.

"Thanks El- Mom. And I'm sorry for implying you were crazy. But I meant what I said about you being worth loving, I stand by that."

"I know. I know you didn't mean it, Anna. Just… I didn't raise you to be condescending toward people with mental health issues."

"You didn't raise me at all; your evil twin did." That at least got a weak smile out of her. "So, um… y-yeah, about that. I'll probably keep screwing up things a little, or saying weird stuff. Hopefully you can kind of give me a pass on that, too."

"Of course, Anna. Even when I'm upset with you it doesn't change how much I love you. As a mother," she added stubbornly, and Anna rolled her eyes. "But… I'll remember what you said about me being worth loving. I didn't mean to diminish myself, just to say… well, like I've mentioned before. You and Jennifer could be happy together without the minefield you'd have to navigate with me. And it wouldn't be 'settling', would it?"

To that, Anna did have to nod. "Might not have a chance with her anymore, but… yeah, I know you're right. Maybe not that you aren't 'worth it' but you're right that it'll be smoother sailing with Punz."

"That was all I meant."

"Okay." As they began to finish up the dishes, she went on, "But we're still gonna talk about stuff. Like how ready to go you were this morning."

"Anna…"

"Like, damn, those lesbian instincts are still as powerful as they were back in the eighties…"

Pursing her lips, Elsa flicked a sudsy finger at Anna, landing a little fleck on her cheek. "I knew what I wanted and I aimed to get it. Nothing wrong with that – unless that something turns out to be your own progeny from the future."

"You were good then, and you were good this morning." When Elsa facepalmed, Anna bumped their hips together to jostle her. "Loosen up, Mom. I'm just telling the truth; it was nice."

"It was. A nice that can't happen again…."

Conversation stalled briefly as they both pondered exactly what to say. Eventually, Anna found the silence too stifling, and broke it with a question that had been on her mind since Elsa mentioned it.

"So… you don't mind if I don't go to school today?" she asked softly after a few moments of silence. Elsa half-turned to look at her.

"After the night you had, I'm a little surprised that you didn't try and feign illness to get out of going," Elsa admitted. Her words were said in jest, but honestly, if Anna hadn't been so distracted that morning, she likely would have.

"I just… I don't know if I can face…" she trailed off with a low, wistful sigh. Jennifer. Her friends. School seemed too hard to deal with today. "I just want to spend today getting to know you. The mother I never had. Can… can we do that?" Her voice was very small and very vulnerable. "Please?"

Elsa looked at her for a moment, a smile forming. "If that's what you want."

Anna grinned back, both of her hands came up in front of her chest. "And I promise, no funny business. Hands above the waist."

"You could still do plenty of damage above the waist," her mother tittered, but she was already patting Anna's face and moving over to pick up the cordless phone from its wall-mounted base. "I'll call in and get you out of classes."

"Thanks, Mom."

~ o ~

The call didn't take long, and neither did showering – in Elsa's case – and getting ready for their day. Since she wasn't going to class, Anna opted to wear a cute pale green dress that she found in her closet – one that she doubted she would ever have worn before altering the past, and probably still wouldn't now except for special occasions. Elsa didn't wear anything special, but she still looked very nice in her ankle-length skirt and long-sleeved blouse, the little cardigan on top seeming oddly cute to Anna. That was probably just leftover from their heated morning, though.

First, they simply went for a long walk and chatted about things. Learning about each other. Anna only accidentally flirted once or twice, and Elsa politely ignored it. For the most part, they focused their energy on finding out the differences between the mother-and-daughter pairs that they were familiar with. Minor ones in some cases, but major in others.

Eventually, they stopped for lunch at the Café 80s, which apparently Elsa had been avoiding until then. It was empty, probably due to most people being at school or work, so they could laugh at the hackneyed nostalgia together – especially the waitress writing down their order in a Trapper Keeper today, which was far too cumbersome to be practical. Elsa had a turkey club sandwich while Anna opted for a burger. They split a basket of fries as they talked.

The new version of her mother was fascinating. She had been a lot more focused in college, majoring in business and economics, minoring in literature – probably because of Kristoff and their shared interests. Then she didn't do much with that degree because she was raising a family, but when Anna started school, she began getting part-time jobs to fill her days. That both explained why they were better off financially, and why Elsa seemed more fulfilled than her old mother was.

It also explained why she had aged much better. The bright seventeen-year-old was a little hidden beneath crows feet and experience, but Anna could still see her clearly enough. That alone would have been a vast improvement; add in the fact that Elsa was actually happy with her life… there was simply so much less _weight_ of disappointment and stress crushing her soul.

"So you don't have work today?" she asked around a mouthful of fries. Elsa shook her head.

"I took some time off – emailed them on Sunday morning."

"Oh? Ohh…"

Giving a wry smile, Elsa's head bobbed up and down briefly. "I figured it would be better to be… around… while we dealt with this. I didn't want you to think I thought you less important than some job."

It made sense, in a way. While Anna could understand Elsa perhaps wanting to get away, she also understood that once realising 'the incident' had transpired, Elsa might have guessed she wouldn't be the same Anna. The chance to get to know one another, properly, was a nice one.

They stayed there for hours, catching up. It was a familiar place, and a neutral one. Neither had any doubt about how easily things could escalate. Whenever Anna said anything remotely flirtatious or coy, Elsa's eyes would widen and a blush rise to her cheeks. She would shush Anna, a firm, "Stop," that made little difference because Anna saw the truth: Elsa liked it.

Once the café began to fill up with students, they drove up to Twin Pines Mall, and actually went inside this time. Anna told her mother a few minor details about the experiment, as they were driving through that very parking lot. Given how weird the whole concept was, Elsa took it a lot easier than she had any right to expect, which was a relief.

"Why did you think I would freak out?" Elsa asked her through the changing room door. They'd gone into a random clothing store, and given that the Elsa of Anna's past had rarely taken her daughter shopping - unless it was for "church clothes" that she would only hate, Anna took to it with much more gusto than she usually would at the prospect of trying on clothes. "I've had years to spin theories with your father, after all. He's going to be disappointed that his Stargate theory isn't the winning one."

_"Stargate?_ Geez…" She adjusted the waistband. "But he'd probably love to see the car, I just don't think Doc would let him."

Chuckling, Elsa said, "I understand. He's doing actual science, and a sci-fi fanboy would cramp his style."

"Nah, not that. More like… he wants to keep the secrets under wraps." She emerged, modelling the 'distressed' Paramore tee and the skinny jeans. "Well?"

The blonde head tilted to one side as she considered. "Hmm… suits you. But I thought you didn't like that album."

"Are you kidding? It's amazing!" Then she held up a finger. "Wait… other-Anna didn't like it, probably. Makes sense. I mean, she's clearly a lot less cool than me…"

"Stop," Elsa laughed as Anna went back in to change into something else. "You know… I've been waiting to miss her, since you are not quite her. But I don't. You're exactly her in all the ways that matter."

Halfway through taking off the pants, Anna paused. Did Elsa mean…? No, surely not. Still, when she opened the door, this time wearing a short skirt that showed off the skin of her thighs, Elsa did develop a pretty little blush. It was adorable.

"That's cute," Elsa said, looking at the skirt but not leering.

"You should try one on!" Anna said, twisting in a circle. Elsa chuckled.

"I don't think it will look as good on me as it does on you."

"Psh," Anna scoffed. "Never know until you try. I'm gonna get out of this, and then it's shopping for you."

"That isn't the point of this trip!" Elsa called through the door, though she didn't sound as if she really minded. In no time at all, Anna exited, hanging up the things she wasn't planning on getting on the rack just outside the changing rooms and carrying the keepers over her arm.

"This one could be fun," she said as she grabbed a pink crop top, and Elsa tutted her disapproval. Not of the top in general, as her old mother would have, but just at the idea of it being worth trying on for her. "Ooh, and what about this?"

"My generation invented mesh shirts, Anna. They were a mistake then, and they're a mistake now."

That was to be expected, and she laughed, putting it back. "Okay, okay. Hey, these shorts would look killer!"

"Those are short enough to show my ass cheeks! Probably more!" When Anna waggled her eyebrows, she glared. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"Just try?" Sighing, Elsa snatched the revealing cutoffs away and put them back… but then took another pair one size larger. "Wow, I thought you'd for sure refuse."

"Trying them on won't hurt. But I want an honest opinion when I get out, not you laughing at me or lying to spare my feelings."

"Roger, chief!" she responded with a quick salute. "Dude, we should hit a shoe store after this…"

There was silence for a few moments as Elsa moved to the changing room to put on the outfit. Then the lock was clicking and she was stepping out.

"So…?" she asked. Her hands were in front of her body, fidgeting, and she was staring more at Anna's chin than her eyes. Obviously nervous, but there was a little hopeful smile.

Anna couldn't focus on that. Not when she had so much else to look at. The Mrs McFly of the past – or rather, the alternate-version of her, had been… frumpy. Turtle necks and business pants to chase away the look of alcoholism. Sometimes just sweatpants, as appalling as that was. There hadn't ever been a time, sans 1985, when Anna had seen so much of her skin.

"Oh. My. God!" Anna squealed. "You look _hot!"_

With a snort, Elsa closed her eyes. "Yeah, right. You're just saying that because it's me and you have this ill-advised crush."

But Anna shook her head. "I'm not, honest! Like _daaaaamn!_"

And Elsa truly did look good, in her eyes. Even an objective gaze would say that the clothes suited her, at least. The pink was bright, but not 'bimbo-bright'. And while Elsa had been anxious at first that the shorts would show off too much, it just barely covered enough of her ass not to be pornographic. There was still a jiggle when she walked – but after half a century, that wasn't that surprising.

Anna wouldn't be opposed to having those thighs wrapped around her head. Objectively speaking.

Elsa looked at her, wary. "You actually think it looks that good?" she asked. When Anna nodded again, smiling, she made a decision. "Well… alright, fine. We'll try them out on an unsuspecting public. But now we have to find you an outfit. This is the first day of the rest of our lives, after all."

Anna chuckled as Elsa returned to the stall. That was a really romantic thing to say – but she wasn't going to ruin it by telling Elsa.

When she came back out, she was wearing a short skirt similar to the one Anna had tried on, and a "vintage" Aerosmith shirt – as she put it, "At least this is a band I've heard of." This was a much more youthful outfit than she had worn to the mall, but not quite as provocative as the cutoffs and crop top. A compromise.

"Keep wearing it," Anna urged as she snatched a few more things for herself to try on. "Like, get used to it and see if you can handle the feeling, all that good stuff."

"It's not like I've never worn a short skirt before," she muttered, cheeks a little pink but smiling. "You know that. But… I suppose it has been a while since I tried one _this_ short…"

Anna didn't try on very many other things, only keeping one or two, and changed back into her jeans and plaid shirt and they headed for the checkout. Elsa had forgotten by then that she was wearing the new clothes, but the cashier rang them up from the tags hanging off and Anna re-convinced her not to change back. Her blush only increased, but she relented.

"Shoes, huh?" Elsa sighed as they walked through the mall, eyes darting everywhere. Waiting for a disparaging comment about 'someone her age' wearing clothes like those. "Nothing too expensive. And I'd prefer something tasteful, but I think you want me to get something gaudy."

"We'll shoot for the middle again, okay? But it has to go with this." Her hand flicked out and flipped the back of Elsa's skirt – a little more than she meant to, causing her to hurriedly push her hand against the back of it.

"_ANNA!"_

"Whoa, Mom, I didn't- sorry! I swear, it barely moved, I wouldn't really flip it all the way up!"

Clearing her throat, she tried to play it off as if she had never reacted. To the rest of the mall, at least. "Anna, please… you can see I'm still getting used to this. A little consideration until I do?"

"You're right… sorry, it wasn't supposed to be a… a thing like that." She squeezed her hand, and Elsa sighed. "Really, I'm not trying to be a brat."

"You've always been a brat," Elsa said, a wry grin beginning to peak out as her embarrassment faded. "Now you're just a very forward brat."

Her smile took out any bite to her words, and Anna couldn't help grinning back. They had made their way to the food court, seeming to have mutually decided to come back another day to keep shopping. It gave them another activity, and something to look forward to.

"Well, as an apology, why don't you let me buy dinner?"

It was Elsa's turn to snort. "With what?" she asked, peering at her daughter. Anna shrugged.

"Uhh… the allowance that I don't get?"

"Oh, you get an allowance," Elsa said airily. "You just spend it on other things."

"Oh yeah?" Anna protested. "Like what?"

"Your band, mostly. And you had that summer job at the burger place that didn't go very well." Anna chuckled; she did, indeed, have that job in her own reality. Maybe things weren't so different. "But most of that money went into your truck."

Anna let out a quiet "oh" as they got to the food court. That would make sense. In her old timeline, getting her own vehicle had been such an impossible pipe dream that she just spent the money on a new amp and new strings for her guitar, better microphones. The truck would help with getting them to gigs, if they ever actually got any.

That made her think of something new to ask. "Are we… popular here? Like, or are we just a garage band the same as we were before?"

"You're about the same, I think," Elsa told her with a sweet, motherly smile that made Anna relax. Worked every time. "Polishing your craft. But I still think you should most definitely at least try to attend college before you-"

"Yeah, yeah, Doc already told me about that one," she muttered as they looked around the different storefronts. "Umm… pizza? Tacos, Chinese?"

"Chinese for me. You get what you want, as long as your eyes aren't bigger than your stomach. Then again, you've always had an incredible metabolism."

"I thought you were gonna say I've always had an incredible stomach," Anna winked as she sauntered off. She didn't hear a response, but neither did she expect to.

By the time she arrived at the Chinese takeout booth, the quip had completely vanished from her mind due to a new dilemma. What was Elsa's favourite to eat? They'd never really eaten out in her past life: it was much more affordable to by bulk frozen food. When they had gone out, it had always been Mickey D's or KFC: honest-to-god shitty fast food. Perhaps luckily, the place was one of the 'buy a plate, load it up as much as you want' joints: thus, Anna was able to add all the fried rice and honey pork she wanted. Typical east-meets-west fare. Instead of buying her own plate, too, she just got an extra-large one to share. It was much more economical, plus they could try a wider range of food.

She returned ten minutes later, laden with a plate, a bottle of Coke, and two sets of chopsticks and straws. Elsa was waiting patiently, watching the people as they moved around and went about their lives. It was getting late – late enough that some shops were beginning to pack up and the crowds were thinning.

Elsa must not have been paying attention because she gave a little start when Anna put the tray in the middle of the table. Anna smiled in apology before taking her own seat and handing Elsa the chopsticks.

"I didn't really know what your favourite was so, everything!" Anna found it harder to admit that than she would have liked; despite Elsa technically being her mother, there was still so much she didn't know about the enigmatic woman in front of her. Elsa smiled broadly at Anna and pointed at the giant pile of honey pork occupying nearly a quarter of the plate.

"What's that then, a lucky guess?" Elsa's smile was dazzling and Anna found it hard not to get lost in her eyes. She was finding it harder and harder to think of the beautiful woman in front of her as any relation at all to her, let alone her mother. Her brain just kept jumping back to 1985…

"Well, everyone likes honey," Anna argued with a grin. "It's what they always eat on TV!"

Elsa chuckled at that. "So what are you getting, then?" she asked. Tilting her head, Anna used her own chopsticks to point at the plate.

"I thought we could share. I mean, we had a big breakfast and a late lunch, and honestly I had enough fast food in my past life. I'd much rather share something nice… er, nicer with you."

Her mother smiled at that, looking away. Anna felt her chest swell proudly at the sight. A light pink blush tinted her mother's cheeks, but this time, Elsa did nothing to make Anna stop. It was actually Anna who broke the tension, clearing her throat and picking up a piece of pork with her chopsticks.

"Come on, dig in!"

It tasted pretty good. When it came down to it, it was food court food, after all; nothing especially mind-blowing. But the company was good. They made small talk until the plate was mostly gone; one straw had been lost to the floor, so they were sharing the other one with the soda. Every time Elsa smiled, Anna had no choice but to grin along with her – and she knew the same was true for Elsa.

A thought crossed her mind briefly: this was how a _date_ would go. Shopping and lunch. Flirting and coy looks. Unable to look at Elsa for a moment, irrationally scared the happiness and love would give away the game, she looked away.

The smile dripped from her face, cheeks paling and stomach rolling as her eyes came to rest upon a familiar face.

_Jennifer._

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the plot begins to diverge a lot more from that of the films. Part I followed the movie very closely, but the many little differences made it impossible to stick that close to the Part II script – or close to it at all. So we went where the writing took us. Hopefully you continue to enjoy the ride regardless! And thank you so much for all your reviews, we read all of them!

_"Punz?!"_

The former-blonde seemed to spot Anna in the same moment, a forkful of salad halfway to her mouth. At first, she looked away, biting her lips. Then she sighed, picked up her tray, and approached their table.

"…could still hit a Payless on our way home," Elsa was saying; Anna hadn't even realised that she had started talking again. "If you didn't want to wait for… oh, hello, Jennifer."

"Hello," she echoed as she sat down across from them. As far away as possible. Anna had to suppress a sigh. "I, um, I didn't see you in school today."

"Y-yeah. I needed a mental health day. Y'know, just to… kinda meet my mom again." Her shoulders shrugged as if that was a normal thing to say; she knew it wasn't. Every word sounded stupid now.

"I don't really understand, but, um…" Clearing her throat, she glanced at Elsa. "Anna told me. About, um… well, it sounds crazy to say it… like, it's science fiction stuff, right?"

As calmly as possible, her mother shrugged and uncapped the bottle of Coke Anna had brought them. "You're talking about the time travel incident?"

"Yeah," she breathed, eyes round. "So… it's all true?"

"Don't you trust my daughter?"

"Of course! I mean… I did, before this. It's not that it was her, though; like, _anybody_ could have told me they went back in time and I'd think they forgot to take their risperidone."

Elsa looked between them, taking in their clearly uncomfortable posture, but pleased that Jennifer was at least talking. Plus she had come over entirely of her own accord and that was a positive sign. The lull in the conversation started to stretch slightly.

"It wasn't her fault." Elsa started, her voice low and, she hoped, reassuring. Punz's neck almost snapped as she looked straight at her. Anna's mind was working overdrive at this point, listening to her mother start to gush in her defence. Undeterred, Elsa continued.

"We called her 'Tori' back then." She reached out and briefly laid her hand across Punz's before retreating; a simple gesture of reassurance, but enough to remind her that yes, she was awake, and yes, this was happening. "Imagine; into my life sweeps this incredible, mysterious young woman who was just so confident, and so painfully, _effortlessly_ cool. I had no idea who I was, and I had some really negative and unhealthy views about my sexuality, and Tori just blew all that away in one evening. Being around her for that week was like being next to a source of pure oxygen; I just couldn't help myself, it made me feel delightfully giddy. And that's the whole story, plus or minus some trivial details."

Jennifer looked almost guilty, and Elsa smiled. At the same time, though, she still looked vaguely ill. "And… and w-what a story it is! Wow..."

Elsa looked between her and Anna before saying, "But this is not the place to talk about things like this. Anna, I just need to duck to the bathroom."

It would have been impossible to miss the way Anna's eyes widened, but Elsa still managed to make her ignorance look natural. She left her stuff on her seat and made a show of looking for directions to the toilet: Anna didn't think that she'd be returning for a few minutes, at least.

"So…"

Punz looked incredibly uncomfortable, but that wasn't really anything new. Anna kept her head down, unable to maintain eye-contact with her girlfriend. Former girlfriend? She didn't know what to say, so the best thing to do would be to say nothing. Jennifer wasn't okay with that, though.

"So. You look… happy." The words were said, not with resentment, but with something else. Anna wasn't sure what to make of that. She couldn't exactly return the compliment because Punz… _didn't_ look happy. She looked miserable. There were bags under her eyes, and her hair, normally so bright and soft, was drab and dull. So, Anna didn't say that. Instead, she asked a question.

"How… how are you?"

For a second, Punz remained silent. Then, her mouth dropped open and she stuttered, "What, you care?"

Anna's heart dropped – not at the words, as such, but the utter disbelief in which she said it. "Of course. God, Punz, I miss you so much! But… but I didn't think I had any right to, y'know…" Again, she ran out of words.

"Oh. Well… I mean, I didn't want to come between you and…" She trailed off. They both knew the next words were going to be 'your mother', and it would have hurt them both for them to be said aloud. "And to be honest, I've been trying to figure out how I feel about everything."

"And?"

Jennifer shrugged, looking down at her plastic box of lettuce. "No idea. I want to say I don't care, but the truth is, I just don't think it's… healthy. What happened, how you feel about it. Which I know, seems a little hypocritical coming from a queer girl, but this is… different. She's your _blood relation._"

"I know," Anna groaned, pushing her hands into her forehead. "But I mean, have you seen her? Did you see how good she looked just now?"

"Yeah, so? Portia de Rossi looks good, too, but it doesn't mean I'm going to be able to go out with her. For a billion reasons."

"But I did almost bang her. Elsa, I mean – not Portia de Rossi. Which, even with Elsa being who she is to me, I think Portia would be _much_ bigger news." Despite the situation, Punz did manage a small, halfhearted smile. "But I want you to know, it was never… I never made the moves. I never said 'hey, you know what I want to do right now?' and just jumped on her; it wasn't… even after all that happened, the thought of that is still scary to me."

But something about what she'd said sobered Punz up. "Anna… even if you didn't make the moves, you didn't stop it. If this is all the way you've told me, then she had no idea who you were. It was your responsibility to stop her and you didn't." Sighing, she looked away. "What… what if I were really drunk and came onto you? Like, really drunk. And I wanted you but you knew that I'd regret it later on? Would you still have sex with me if that happened?"

"It wasn't like that, Punz," Anna cried. But Punz shook her head.

"No, it's exactly like that," came the angry retort. "You _have_ to see that. How could- how could she consent to what happened if you kept that a secret? You took advantage of- of that girl's love, when she had no idea it was with her future child! It's the same. And I don't know how to be okay with that."

Chastised, Anna looked away. Punz stood up – just as Elsa returned. "Oh, were you just leaving? You don't have to on my account, you're welcome to stay!"

Swallowing, Punz shook her head. "N-no thank you, Mrs McFly," she said. "I had better be going." And with that, she was off. She didn't look back.

Elsa sat back in her own chair. She looked at Anna for a moment, and then said softly, "Sweetheart…?"

With watery eyes, Anna looked up. "I just um- Punz… mentioned something I hadn't really thought of," she said softly. "I uh… I know you wanted shoes but uh… could we just go home instead?"

"Of course. Let me just…" For a moment, she was indecisive. Then she ate a few bites of the food and pushed it back toward Anna. "You should have some before we go."

"I'm not hungry."

So they left, without eating any more of the honey chicken. Once back in the car, Elsa asked, "I take it things didn't go so well?"

"They went… how I figured they would. Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Did, um… did I really mess up?" Her voice already sounded like she was going to cry, so she cleared her throat. "I knew you were my mother, and I l-let you eat me out, anyway."

The car nearly swerved into a lamppost, but Elsa corrected in time. "ANNA!"

"AAH! I'm sorry! I should have, like, used some kind of euphemism or whatever!"

"Yes, I'd appreciate that, at least! GOD! I'm driving!" But her cheeks were a little warm. "Anyway… you were asking if it's your fault, weren't you?"

"Yeah."

Sighing, Elsa guided the car over to the curb and put it in park. Then she turned and took up Anna's hand, even though Anna couldn't look at her right then. She felt too guilty, too disgusting.

"Yes. It was."

"Oh. Wow, I… thought you were going to make me feel better. My bad for assuming."

"That doesn't make you some kind of monster," Elsa said with a light chuckle. "We were the same ages, and I was coming on as strong as I ever have to anyone in my entire life. We both felt the connection, and… we were both young. You still are! So it would be silly for me to expect you to act like a fully-matured, responsible adult when you aren't one quite yet, wouldn't it?"

"But I still knew," Anna said hopelessly. "I knew it was wrong and I knew who you were and I still let you. I knew I had someone waiting for me here and I still let you!" She was crying in earnest now. "I took advantage of you…"

"Anna." The car shut off fully now as Elsa turned to look at her daughter. "You didn't take advantage of me. Everything I did, I did because I wanted to. While some… important details were left out, I don't honestly think they would have made much difference. I would have written you off as crazy, and you probably wouldn't even exist today."

"But-"

"Anna, I trust you. And with that trust comes the belief that you did what you thought was right in the moment. So yes, it was your fault. But I don't want you to think you did anything that _hurt_ me."

Biting her lip, Anna nodded. She wasn't expecting Elsa to lean across the center console and pull her close; even more surprising was when she pressed her lips against a freckled temple, holding them there.

"I cared about you then and I care about you now. And I think perhaps Jennifer doesn't fully understand what happened."

Anna snorted; a wet, mucousy sound. "Yeah, sure. I didn't even get a chance to finish telling her before she was puking into the garden."

And perhaps that was another reason for Anna's unease. The fact that Punz believed her capable of taking advantage of someone like that. Anna believed she never would; hoped that she was a decent person. But now she wasn't sure. Punz seemed to have already made up her mind, and it didn't seem likely that Anna would be able to change that. But at the very least, the one opinion that mattered the most, the one that belonged to the 'wronged party' herself, believed that Anna was not to blame. And that meant the world in a moment such as this, when she was questioning her own motives and resolve. She would probably still beat herself up over it for a while yet, but maybe not quite as cruelly.

"Love you, Mom," she finally whispered, making sure to be as familial as possible. Keeping their hug warm and gentle, not making any weird moves or noises. Treating her mother like a mother.

"Of course. I love you, too. We both knew that part." Then Elsa drew back and cupped her cheek. "Even if you are trying to get me to wear booty shorts for you, I know that it's not because you don't love me. Just… that you're confused about what kind of love we should have."

Feeling a guilty little flutter, Anna looked away. "Maybe, but they really did look good on you. Like, it wasn't ONLY that I was into what I was seeing. You're a total-"

"Nope. Don't say it. That word is dumb, and I really don't want my daughter calling me that!"

"How do you even know what word I was going to say?"

"Well, if it's not 'MILF' I will be completely shocked." Elsa shivered, and Anna laughed.

"Okay, you got me. It just… is way worse between you and me, right?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Elsa said, "I think we're doing a lot better than you or Punz think we are right now. We had fun today, despite how it began and how upset we both could be instead. Try to trust that how much we care for each other will win out over awkwardness, alright?"

"Mkay. I wish she could see that…"

Pulling away, Elsa's hand moved to Anna's, squeezing before she turned the car back on. "We'll all get over this, Anna. Don't worry about it."

Anna did her best to put it from her mind. Distractions helped: when they got home, they picked out another movie – and even though there was more room on the couch now that Kristoff was gone, Anna still snuggled up close. Elsa had a hand wrapped around Anna's waist as the younger girl leaned into her. She was warm, and soft, and Anna found herself concentrating more on the way Elsa felt next to her instead of on the film. She wasn't alone.

_Even if this is as close as we ever get anymore,_ she thought to herself as they sat there, _that's okay. I just want her in my life. Doesn't have to be in a gay way._

Though she didn't know for sure that she could truly stop making random passes at Elsa. But she would try.

~ o ~

The next day, Anna went to class as usual. She avoided Jennifer, because she didn't expect that either one of them felt much like talking after their last conversation. And she did a lot of thinking.

Both Punz and her mother were right. Sure, Anna wasn't some kind of terrible sex fiend who had preyed on an innocent victim; she and Elsa had shared a very special, very important moment between them. But she had been the one who understood the situation best, and though she put up resistance at first, at some point that resistance faded away. She should have fought harder against the gravitational pull of the high school version of her mom. Maybe that conclusion didn't solve all of her problems, but it assuaged a small percentage of her guilt. Made it bearable.

When she got home, her mother was waiting for them to go shoe-shopping. That went even easier than the clothes-shopping, given that Elsa could select a somewhat conservative outfit and keep it on the whole time. Though Anna did get her to buy a few really fun pairs of heels and sandals, Elsa also got her to do the same. Anna was mostly a Vans girl in both timelines, so she could see the gleam in her mother's eye at getting her to buy more 'feminine' footwear.

That evening, Wendy was supposed to drop by for dinner, so they put on their best behaviour. Not that Elsa ever really flirted with Anna on purpose, but she would occasionally respond to Anna's flirting, whether or not it was intentional. Tonight, they kept all that on lockdown. It resulted in a nice meal with the McFly women, chatting about their days.

Anna was having a great time. She had never really got along with Wendy before, and it wasn't like they had many things in common this time around. But Wendy's personality was different. She was less sarcastic and more open; didn't hide herself behind the same pretentious snark that she had in Anna's old life. She also seemed to realise that something was a little bit different about her baby sister, but didn't really comment on that. Anna was grateful at the time, but when Wendy asked a different question, she thought she may not have minded so much.

"So, how was the night at the lake?" she asked. Elsa had gone to dish up dessert – waffles they bought from the supermarket, topped with ice cream and maple syrup – and so Anna was left alone with her sister. "I didn't want to push it with the boys around."

There was an easy smile on her face, but Anna couldn't match it. Still… despite all the shit that had happened afterwards, they still had shared a magical night. Swallowing drily, Anna realised that perhaps that was why Punz had been so hurt.

"It was uh… it was nice."

"Hmm? Nice? Anything else?" When Anna blushed red but didn't answer, Wendy grinned. "C'mon, gimme the deets! I remember when Peter and I–"

"Not at the table, girls." Elsa appeared around the corner, carrying three bowls of warm waffles, vanilla ice cream already beginning to melt. Between her fingers was the cutlery, and the maple syrup tucked under her arm.

Glancing at her mom, Anna dipped her head and accepted her bowl. "Thanks." Then she cleared her throat and smiled slightly at Wendy. "It went pretty well. But we kind of got in a fight after that, so less great since then."

"Really?" Wendy's eyebrows knitted together. "God… I can't remember you two ever fighting. That's sad to hear, I'm sorry."

"Yeah. I mean, it happens."

"What was the fight about?"

Apparently sensing that Anna had about all she could take of the interrogation, Elsa swooped in to whisper, "Don't pester her. What about you and this Craig? Or was it Greg?"

"I told you, he's just a work associate," Wendy sighed at her. Anna had a suspicion that their mother already knew this part, and was only needling her about it to distract from the topic of Punz and their fight. "I'm with Peter and I'm _staying_ with Peter."

"Really? Then why do you and Craig-Greg keep having so many lunches? Surely you could cover all your 'work associate' topics at, you know, work?"

While the two of them squabbled good-naturedly about this, laughing at each other for being stubborn, Anna began to relax again. That had been a relief; she really didn't feel like thinking too deeply about Punz at that moment. Too much of a sore spot. Besides, there was ice cream to be eaten.

The night ended well, as if the brief tension had never occurred. Wendy hung around for another hour, though she mostly chatted with Elsa. It was actually a really good way for Anna to get close to her sister without making it obvious that many of the things they were talking about were completely foreign.

It was also a really good way to just watch how this version of Elsa interacted with other people. There was definitely a difference between her interactions with Wendy, and those she had with Anna. It was subtle, but still noticeable if one knew what to look for. She was less guarded with Wendy – more open with her words and gestures, even if the topics tended to be shallower. She also guided the conversation more, and Anna had a feeling she'd be very good at redirecting away from topics she didn't want to entertain.

Eventually, though, it got too late. Wendy politely excused herself, making sure to tell them that she'd be back before long. The best surprise came when Anna was pulled into a goodbye hug; the first in probably a decade that she'd had from her sister.

And as she watched her driving off, Anna was struck with a single thought: it really was amazing how much one person could change the future.

~ o ~

Friday dawned bright and cool – it truly was coming into winter. This time, Anna was running very close to late, even with having a vehicle of her own. A guilty thought that she was glad she didn't have to pick up Jennifer went through her head as she made it into her first class just in time for the bell.

Not that the painful pang lasted. She spent most of her morning thinking about Elsa. For once, she was actually just thinking about their relationship, how well they were getting along now. Much as she had been against it, as she had wanted to pick up where they left off in 1985, she had to admit her mother had been right all along; it was a lot more important that they figure out how to just be mother-and-daughter again. To be a family.

This thought carried her all the way out into the parking lot after school. She was so tired of being in school, and focused on getting home to hang out with her new-and-improved family that she almost didn't notice Jennifer leaning against her truck until she was stumbling into her.

"OH! I- shit. Um… hey. What- what's up?"

"Hey." Nipping her messy brown bangs out of her eyes, Punz cleared her throat. Very seldom had she seen her friend look this nervous. The only other time had been when she was trying to work up the courage to ask Anna to the lake. "Can… we go somewhere?"

"There are a lot of somewheres." She felt a little bad about being so hostile, and she didn't mean it to sound that way, but she felt a little lingering annoyance at how she passed judgment on her in the food court, along with a heaping dose of guilt that she really didn't want to analyse.

"Like, the café, or… I don't know. Just park somewhere." Punz's eyes looked a little shinier than usual, as if she were just starting to get close to crying. "Please?"

Melting completely, Anna said, "Yeah, of course. Hop in. You don't have to ride in the front with me if you don't want to."

"C'mon, don't be like that. Just… let's go somewhere else. Not this dumb parking lot."

The drive was made in silence. Punz seemed unwilling to begin discussing whatever she had on her mind until they were in more neutral territory. Anna just didn't know what to say. She could very easily just drop Jennifer off home. Or she could very easily just keep driving until Punz got sick of it or she ran out of gas.

But she did neither. It seemed like Punz probably wanted some privacy, and the only place that could truly afford that was in the car. Sighing, she turned into the parking lot of an old Blockbuster Video, out of business for a good half-decade and mostly abandoned. The roof had caved in at some point so it was condemned; something about a weather satellite crashing.

On the plus side, if either of them had to get out and found themselves walking home, at least it was a much closer location than the school.

"Go ahead," Anna sighed. "Tell me more about how I'm a terrible person."

"That's not fair. You really dropped a ton of stuff on my shoulders, Anna."

"I know… but it still doesn't feel particularly good to be accused of 'tricking' my mom. But I know you probably have other stuff to say, so go ahead. I just… want to hear it all at once."

Clearing her throat, Punz looked down at her knees. "So… maybe that was a little far. You're right. Thing is… I'm trying my hardest not to be disgusted by, like, this whole situation. I really am. But she's your _mother!_ How is that ever supposed to be okay?"

"Well, I was kind of hoping that you'd understand, but I knew it was a long shot."

"Yeah. Yeah, it was." Pushing a hand into her face, she shrugged and said, "But I had a little more time to think now, and I guess… it's not really fair for me to say that you did anything wrong when I wasn't there. And clearly, your mom doesn't agree with me, and her opinion matters most in terms of… well…"

"Whether or not I hurt her by letting this happen?" she breathed, fists flexing around the grips of the steering wheel.

"Y-yeah. I mean, like you said, she was the one coming onto you. It should have been up to you to stop her, but I mean… I've never had a teenaged version of my mom crawl all over me." The idea made her lip curl, but she pushed on ahead. "Just… can I get some time with this? The whole time travel thing keeps feeling like a dream, and…"

"How do you think I feel?" she asked, though there was no venom in her tone. It was an honest question. Anna was angry. At herself, at Punz… but mostly at herself. "Do you… do you think I wanted this? To do all that, to fall in-"

She cut herself off, but it was too late; anybody could tell what she had been about to say. _Shit._ That was the last thing she wanted to slip out! There was a soft "oh" from the passenger seat, more out of reflex than anything. Anna looked away, out her side window so she wouldn't have to see the recognition in her almost-girlfriend's features.

"I love you," she said, clenching her eyes shut. "So much. For the last however long we've known each other, I've loved and admired you. And at first it was as a friend, but then I started seeing you differently. A good different. But now…"

"Now it's happened again," came the dull reply. Anna nodded her head. She couldn't speak. "Anna… you can see how this is wrong, can't you?" Punz's voice was timid, and soft. Perhaps that was what made Anna angriest, and she whirled around.

"Of course I do!" she cried, tears both sad and angry streaming down her cheeks. "You think I wanted to get stuck in 1985 with my horny, repressed mother? You think I wanted her to fall for me, or 'Tori' or whoever?" Sucking in a breath, she continued, not giving Jennifer a chance to interrupt – if indeed she was planning on trying. Her face had paled and her eyes had widened. But she wasn't running. "You think I don't hate myself after what I did – what I let Elsa do to me? Because _yes,_ Jennifer. I knew who she was and I let her and I _enjoyed_ it. And now every time I look at my mom, I can't stop seeing that seventeen-year-old, terrified of her sexuality, a-and… and needing my help. Needing _me._"

The second half of her sentence dropped barely to a whisper as the fire left her. Anna crossed her arms over the steering wheel, letting them cushion her as her head fell forward. She waited for the sound of the door opening; for Punz to get out and not look back.

Not this time. She had fled before, but apparently she was now determined to stick around and wade through the muck.

"You really… you let her…"

When she heard sniffling, she raised her head to gape at Jennifer. "Why are you crying? Like, it didn't happen to you. So for you, it's… just a weird thing."

"I don't know, okay? It's like… I wanna say… that I'm upset because my friend got abused by her parent, because that how it feels and how it sounds, even if it's not really what happened, a-and I'm just really mixed up, Anna, I…"

The word 'abused' made Anna's heart constrict, and she turned to press in close to Jennifer. Making them both flinch at the sudden change in spatial relation to each other. "It's not. A-and after what you said… I asked her, and she definitely convinced me that she didn't think I hurt her. That I messed up by not pushing her away enough, but that it was just, like… a mistake, y'know? A regular human one, not a 'you deserve the electric chair' kind."

"They don't use the electric chair anymore, do they?" When Anna didn't answer, she drew her legs up into the seat, wrapping her arms around her knees. "Sorry. But… yeah, I kinda get what you mean, I guess. It's not exactly a good thing, but to her, it was just something that happened. Like when Merida knocked over the mailbox."

"Yeah, exactly like that. Nobody pressed charges because they knew she wasn't pranking anybody, or vandalising or whatever. Just a dumb accident."

"Accident." A weak laugh crept out of her throat. "Accidentally slept with your own mother. Man, that is one HUGE slip-up."

Anna couldn't bring herself to laugh, but a half-hearted smile curled at the edges of her lips. "I really fucked up," she said. "And- and I don't know how to make it better but I want to. I get if… if this is just too big, and you never wanna see me again. But if there's even a _chance_ that we can move past this, I want to take it. I-" She bit her lip. "This is going to sound weird, but I've loved you longer than my mother – even in a motherly sense. I've cared about you longer. In the other version of history, she was a… a drunk. Just some old asshole. You cared about me more than she ever did. I…"

There was so much more she wanted to say. Punz had been so integral to her life for so long. But she didn't want to say that – she didn't want Jennifer to feel like she _had_ to stay friends with Anna. It wasn't like it wouldn't sting for a while – a really long while. But if Punz decided she were better off without Anna, then… Anna would accept that.

"Anna…" Punz began before stopping. She paused a moment, getting her thoughts in order. When she started speaking again, she didn't look at Anna. "Anna, I love you. I can't… condone what you did. I don't even want to think about it. And I wanted to give you that but the thought of doing to you what your mother has done makes me sick."

Swallowing around the painful lump in her throat, Anna nodded. "I under-"

"BUT," Punz interrupted. She turned her head, and though Anna expected to see tears, her eyes were clear. "But you're my best friend and the last thing I want to do is lose you. The last thing I want to do is push you away. It's just… going to be hard for a while."

"I'm so sorry," Anna told her immediately. "For this happening, for what it did to you… I tried to tell her I wasn't interested, that I wasn't available, but I just…" Suddenly, she couldn't help confessing something that had been burdening her more than she could say. "Sh-she was so sweet – and so scared! I kept seeing how scared she was of her feelings, of b-being outed and loving a woman, gays couldn't be out back then! And sh-she seemed like… like if I crushed her then, if she thought I didn't like her, that she would be crushed forever, and I c-couldn't- I didn't w-want to hurt my mom!"

By the end of it, she was sobbing, eyes streaming and vision swimming, and Punz's arms were around her, gripping hard and letting her get all the feelings out on her shoulder. Giving her that. The entire time, all Anna could think was that she didn't deserve that kind of consideration, but she was out of energy to protest. This would just have to be another thing she apologised for later.

When the tears finally stemmed, Jennifer petted down along her neck and whispered, "I got you. I got you, Anna… I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

"Why am I such a fuckup?! Principal Weselton is right!"

"Okay, now I KNOW you're upset." When all Anna did was sob louder, she squeezed her more. "Oh God… I'm sorry, Anna. I knew this was really messing with you, but just… hadn't fully… thought about it from your perspective. Or about Elsa growing up in the 80s; it could have been worse, I guess, but being queer was rough back then."

"I know it wasn't like, my job to make her feel okay about it," she blubbered, "but I c-couldn't help feeling like… ugh, I'm just repeating myself now. Sorry."

Punz didn't say a word. She just kept her arms around Anna's shoulders, shushing her softly. Finally, Anna's sobs subsided and her eyes stopped leaking. Her face was a red, swollen mess, the skin sticky and shiny. Carefully, Punz ran a thumb over Anna's cheeks.

"I can't even imagine how you felt…" she began. "But… I guess I could try…" Anna's head jerked up, but Punz wasn't looking at her. She was staring at her lap, and kept staring down even as she continued in a hushed murmur, "Don't we deserve more than just pulling the plug?"

"I guess… yeah. Yeah, we do. I just didn't know how to say… how to ask…" Realising that she had no idea what else to say, she reached over and gripped Punz's free hand as tightly as she could. "You… I'm really… yeah."

"Good talk," she said with a smile, albeit one perhaps a little smaller than Anna was used to. "Now… could we maybe get out of here?"

Anna nodded. Her hand left Punz's to rest on the keys, still in the ignition. Before she turned the car on, she paused to say, without looking over at Punz, "Thank you. For getting what I mean, even when I don't have any idea what that is."

"No problem. This… is bigger than anything I've ever had to deal with before, and it's even worse for you. I think it's fair to cut both of us a little slack." Her eyes were a little sad when she glanced over at her. "But, um… this thing with your mom…"

Anna slumped. "Yeah?"

"It was only in the _past_, right?"

"Wish I could say 'yes'," Anna sighed wearily. "But… that's what I'm hoping. Despite the other morning."

"The other morning?"

That was an unfortunate thing to bring up. Anna was very careful in her explanation, making sure Punz knew up front that Elsa wasn't fully conscious, and Anna was trying to get her to wake up and either stop or make an informed decision. It helped that she had begun driving, and didn't have to look at the distressed eyes in the passenger seat. Then she gave more details, which got Punz groaning freshly – and looking a little green.

"I know," Anna finally lamented as they pulled up in front of her house. "Just when I was starting to feel like, daughterly again! But it's been better since then. No more weird near-misses."

Punz still looked a little uneasy, but she smiled anyway. "Come on, let's get you inside," she said, unbuckling the seatbelt. It struck Anna then that she'd have no way to get home – either Anna would have to drop her off, or Punz's parents would have to pick her up. The latter wasn't a particularly welcoming solution, so Anna just kept her mouth shut. When Punz was ready to leave, she'd let her know.

It had been so easy to lose track of time. Until she walked through the door, Anna hadn't realised how late it had become; the sight of Elsa, relaxing on the couch with a cup of tea, was a pleasant, if unexpected, surprise.

"Oh! You girls are back um… late? Early?" Elsa seemed a little bit flustered. Anna had to make an effort not to grin at the sight of the reading glasses, slipping down her mother's slender nose.

"Hello, Mrs McFly," Punz said, meek but steady.

"Hello, Jennifer," Elsa responded, a small smile on her lips. "How is school treating you?"

Punz looked like a deer in the headlights, obviously not expecting to be drawn into a conversation. She looked like Elsa had just asked her what her favourite brand of lube was: shock, mixed in with some surprise and a very generous dash of "what the fuck". Not that Anna could understand why; they weren't going to discuss anything obscene. Was this really going to be _that_ big of a problem?

And then she smiled. It was small, but genuine. Anna felt a weight leave her chest that she didn't even realise she'd been carrying. Maybe she really was able to set aside the unpleasant events due to their strong friendship and affection, after all. "Very well, thank you. I got a B+ on my lab report."

Elsa fully put her book down now, sitting up straight. "Congratulations," she said. The conversation was a little stilted, and much too formal, but that didn't mean it wasn't nice. "Would you like to stay for dinner? I didn't have any plans, but perhaps takeout is the way to go today. It's been a rough week."

"I'll say," Anna murmured under her breath. Luckily for her, both women ignored it.

"Oh, only if you're sure," Punz deferred, not quite sure how to answer. Elsa stood, still smiling.

"I wouldn't have offered if I weren't," she said. "Come on, let's look at some menus."

So in the end, after much agonising and good-natured arguing about different locations and different toppings, they ordered a couple of pizzas and a side of cheesy bread. Elsa wanted the veggie-laden kind – which was a new one on Anna, as her old mother and the young version had been fine with simple pepperoni – and Anna and Punz got a pepperoni-bacon-mushroom.

And they talked. Waiting for the pizza to arrive, setting the table and pouring glasses of soda, a constant stream of discussion flowed. They didn't delve into anything very difficult, but they did spend all of their time chatting about surface topics. From the energy in the room, Anna could tell this was very normal for them – or rather, it had been. Would still be, if she hadn't jumped the gun and spilled the beans to Punz. Great, even, if she hadn't hurt Elsa and Jennifer's relationship by telling Jennifer everything. But at the same time…

It wouldn't have been possible if she hadn't gone back in time and let certain events unfold. Anna was trying to remind herself of that more and more often: it was very weird and messed up, but it was becoming blatantly obvious that without a specific event – without that moment of intimacy she shared with Elsa in the parking lot – she would still be in the horrible life she had before, with an alcoholic mother and a spineless father, both of them extremely unhappy with the way their lives had turned out. This was better. Overall, this was far better.

They were still picking at the last of their plates when Elsa finally addressed the elephant in the room. "So… I'm happy to see that you're… handling things better than when last we spoke."

Jennifer set down her Pepsi very slowly. "Yeah," she affirmed, not looking at either McFly. "Still kind of… I mean, time travel and all. But I'm working on it. Done a lot of thinking over the last few days…" Here, she looked up at Anna and shot her a brief smile – one that Anna soaked up greedily.

"I don't expect you to say 'oh that's completely fine' right away, Jennifer. Obviously. Working on it is the best that Anna and I could have hoped for in this situation."

At that, she let out a quiet laugh. "Anna and I, huh?"

"What?"

"N-nothing. Just sounds very coupley when you say it like that." Glancing up and seeing that Elsa looked a little shocked – and hearing Anna choke on her own soda – she raised a hand. "Th-that was supposed to be, like, a joke! Or a random observation! I'm not trying to… I wasn't-"

"It's fine," Elsa chuckled at last, though her cheeks were a little pinker. "I certainly didn't mean it that way. Only that we're the ones involved, and the only two who could ever fully understand the weirdness we've been through."

"I'm trying." Jennifer looked earnest, albeit a little panicked around the edges, clearly nervous again. "Anna mentioned… the other morning." Now it was Elsa's turn to look alarmed, but only a tiny amount. Punz continued undeterred. "And I'm trying not to be jealous or like, nauseated here…" She tried to force a smile, and Elsa interjected quickly.

"I'm not going to make a habit out of sleeping with Anna," Elsa said, almost flippant. And then she seemed to realise exactly what had come out of her mouth and she looked around the table, horrified. "No! Not… it wasn't- I mean, Anna was so upset-"

"But it almost was, wasn't it?" Jennifer interrupted quietly. "Because a part of you…" She left the rest unsaid, and stood suddenly. "No. I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" Jennifer spoke a little louder, raising a hand to stop them from following her to their feet – or trying to speak. "I'm going to go use the bathroom. Please, forget I said anything. I didn't want to be… to say… that."

If Anna understood anything, it was that her girlfriend was confused, but she was desperately trying. It was a mild relief, even while she hated the situation as a whole. Once Jennifer was in the bathroom, Elsa slumped downward. "This is exhausting."

"What? Oh… yeah." With a quiet laugh, Anna stood up to get rid of her plate. There were a few bites left on her slice, but her appetite had already been pretty minimal before, and now the rest of it had vanished. "Sorry."

"No, it's a good exhausting. This is something very much worth doing, it's just… a little taxing, that's all." Then she joined her daughter in cleaning up. "And you shouldn't worry so much; you're doing a great job of putting her at ease, helping her understand."

"Really? Because it feels like I keep fucking things up worse."

"You aren't." Her arm snaked around Anna's shoulders to give her a quick side-hug before she started rinsing off plates to put in the dishwasher.

When Jennifer returned, her eyes were a little bloodshot but otherwise she seemed fine. They all sat around with their sodas for a little while and chatted about small things, and then Elsa gave her an unexpected hug when she said she should be going.

"OH!" she yelped. "Oh, I'm… thanks?"

"No thanks needed. You're a good person, and a sweet girlfriend for my Anna. I'm sorry if it seems like one or both of us are trying to… interfere, or mess with this."

Finally, Jennifer relaxed a little more into the hug, even if she still seemed highly uncomfortable. "I know. God, I've known you for years, Mrs McFly! And this… I never expected it. You and Anna always seemed so close, but not _this_ close."

Elsa broke the hug, smiling. "We weren't. This is only a very recent development – at least for Anna."

Punz flushed red and looked away. She stepped fully back and ran a hand through her short hair. "I should probably… get going. My mom- y'know?"

Frowning, Elsa glanced down at her watch. "Gosh, it is getting quite late. Would you like to spend the night instead of worrying your mother?"

Punz looked a little surprised at being asked. Anna had to wonder whether Mrs Punzel was as horrid to Elsa in this timeline as she was in the other one. Though in the other one, she was less 'mean' and more 'derisive', due to the alcoholism and slovenly appearance.

"Oh, now I would really be imposing," she said. Elsa just kept smiling.

"You don't have to if you don't want to. I just wanted to put the offer out there. Why don't I go and have a shower while you girls think it over?"

For some reason, the idea of Punz sleeping over, along with Elsa being nude in a neighbouring room, was too much for Anna. "N-nah, I can drive her home! But we can all meet up tomorrow? Maybe, um, keep this party going?"

"This 'party', huh?" Elsa laughed, genuinely amused by that comparison. "Well that's fine, only offering. It was nice having you here." She gripped Jennifer's shoulder again before the two girls left the house.

"WHEW."

"Yeah," Jennifer agreed, eyes wide as Anna closed the front door. "But it wasn't bad. I mean, it was good! Just… a little bizarre. Sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry. This is all us! We're the weird ones, and you're just… along for the ride. So if anybody should be-"

"Nah, don't do that," she headed her off, bumping into her lightly as they got to the side of the truck. "I'm starting to get used to it. Probably won't for a really long time, not fully, but it's not, like… shocking anymore? I guess?"

Nodding, Anna patted her back a couple of times. "That's as good as I could ever hope for, I think. Thanks, Punz."

Anna was expecting her ride back to Punz's place to be a quiet affair, mostly silent driving and maybe a couple of tunes on the radio whilst Jennifer stared out of the window. She was still slightly mulling over her feelings from earlier when she was broken out of her silent reverie by Punz asking her a gently probing question.

"Did… did you really want to do something tomorrow…?"

Anna didn't answer for a moment, honestly surprised by the question. She hadn't thought this far ahead; she just knew that they had made some real connections that evening, even if they were tentative, and she didn't want to lose that.

"What about movies, and ice cream?"

Punz seemed pleased with that answer, shooting her a quick smile. "Okay, but I'm sitting between you and Elsa."

That statement caused Anna's stomach to do all sorts of strange contortions. "You don't have to chaperon us, you know."

"I was kidding, dork," she snorted, elbowing her side. "But yeah, sounds like a plan."

"Tubular." When she got a funny look, Anna dipped her head low as she pulled up outside the Punzel house. "Sorry. Leftover slang from my field trip."

"Right." There was a slightly awkward pause before Punz leaned over, very gently, to give Anna a goodnight cheek-kiss. At least they were back to that level of intimacy again. Maybe expecting to worm her hand down Punz's pants anytime soon was way too much to hope for, but Anna could handle it as long as her girlfriend was still a part of her life.

"Love you," Anna whispered.

"Yeah… you, too." The response was said a little softer, and though it hurt Anna that Punz couldn't quite say it back yet, she knew that it would come in time. Unless she fucked it up again. The giddy smile they shared afterwards only verified that thought, and Anna had to bite her lip a little, too. "See you tomorrow?"

"Count on it. Night!"

All the way back to her house, Anna was on cloud nine. Everything was great. Not perfect, but perfect was something that only a fool could expect from real life. This was the best her life had ever been, even with the slight wrinkles. She was going to cherish it for all she was worth.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Sensuality.

By the time Anna arrived home, some of the good cheer had disappeared. Only a little, and mostly because she'd come to the realisation that she had actually wanted Punz to stay over. The thought in the car about hands in pants was true, but that didn't mean that, on some level, Anna wasn't aching to touch Punz again… and now that some of the self-hatred was fading, she sort of maybe wanted to be touched, too. Even without that, being close to her all night long sounded like bliss.

Too late now. That was something to face another day. Anna's only thought was to kick her shoes off in the front hall and to find her mom, maybe talk to her for a little while before going to bed. She really didn't have the mental capacity to do anything more, such as gaming as rarely as she did that. Or even staring at Netflix on her phone for a while.

But she couldn't find Elsa. "Mom?" she called out in the hallway. No answer. Maybe she was in the master bath, getting ready for bed. Luckily, the house did have two bathrooms, which had been not enough when the kids were little but was a good number now.

A light was coming from under the door. Anna crossed to it, raising a hand to knock…

_"Oooh…"_

Her entire body stilled when she heard that moan floating out from the other side, cutting through the sounds of the exhaust fan and the running water. Was she okay? Or was she… more than okay? The noise could have been either one.

But part of Anna knew it was a lie she was trying to sell herself. She _knew_ that noise. Had heard it before. There was only one reason Elsa had ever made a sound like that.

A moment later, when she heard, "Ohhh, YES," she had her confirmation. For a few seconds, she hovered there, indecisive. What was she supposed to do in this situation?

But eventually, her good sense kicked in; her mother was taking care of her urges. Privately. Face burning red, Anna sent herself out of the bedroom and into the hallway. God, what was she supposed to do? Elsa knew she was going to be home – it didn't take long to drive to Punz's. Maybe she thought Anna would be having her own fun with Jennifer, so she would have a little longer to see to her own needs.

Regardless, the fact remained that Elsa was currently engaged in acts no proper daughter should ever want to witness, and yet here Anna was, nipples pebbling and core clenching. Fuck, this was bad. How was she supposed to move on when Elsa sounded like that?

Eventually she managed to make herself move into the kitchen. Water. A nice, cool drink would help calm her down. Three glasses of it and a wealth of pacing back and forth later, however, and the only thing she had succeeded in doing was making herself need to pee.

Luckily, at that time Elsa emerged from the shower, already dressed in a silky blue night gown with a fluffy white robe over the top, feet stuffed into slippers that matched the robe. Apparently, she must have been at the very end of her 'activity' when Anna heard her if she only took that much time afterward to wash up and get dressed.

"Oh!" she said in some surprise when she saw Anna standing in the kitchen. "You're… already back? I thought you and Jennifer… well, anyway. How did it go?"

Swallowing hard, Anna forced herself to smile. Between the pressure in her bladder and the memory of what she practically walked in on, her entire body had a bad case of The Tinglies. But she was determined to act as normal as she could.

"She's fine. I mean, I can see how you'd think we'd want to, like, say a longer goodbye in the truck… but, um, I wanted to end tonight short and sweet. On a good note, I guess?"

Elsa nodded a few times as she opened the refrigerator to get the milk. Since when did they get milk in glass bottles? It had always been cheap plastic jugs for the McFlys. "Well, it can't be helped. You both need a little time, her especially."

"Y-yeah." She shouldn't be staring at Elsa's round ass… "Time. Crazy thing."

"If I knew you'd be back so fast, I wouldn't have taken my time in there." As she poured the glass, Elsa avoided Anna's eyes. At least she wasn't lying to her, but Anna had a feeling what she meant was, 'I wouldn't have gone to town on myself if I knew you might be in the house when I finished.'

"Yeah. I've been here a while; at first I thought you might have gone out."

"Sorry. As I said, if I'd known…"

Anna shrugged, leaning back against the counter with her nearly-empty glass of water. "It's cool. You can… take all the time you need in the shower. Why not? It's your shower. This is your house. Showers are… good!"

As she raised the milk to her lips, Elsa's eyebrows did knit slightly. But she made no remark as she took a long, slow drink. God, this was even worse than watching her ass. Anna couldn't draw her eyes from Elsa's throat, watching it bob as she swallowed. When Elsa finished, there was a fine milk line atop her lip.

It took all of Anna's willpower not to whimper when a delicate tongue popped out and licked it off.

Maybe it was obvious to Elsa, because she flushed and lifted a hand, rubbing off any remnants. Anna cleared her throat and hastily stammered, "I should- I should go, y'know. Been a, um, a busy week and all…"

It was a pathetic excuse, but it was obvious by now that Elsa knew that Anna knew. She gave a weak smile and a nod. "Of course. You can sleep in tomorrow, unless you're going to Merida's?"

Honestly, Anna hadn't thought of it – and neither was she in the mood to stand there and discuss it. "Sure, I'll um, I'll let you know tomorrow?"

She waited just long enough for Elsa to wish her a good night before escaping into her bedroom. Only once she was in there did she remember: she had to pee. But she had already said goodnight! Biting her lip, she tried to suppress the urge as long as she could, listening for Elsa to leave. Or really, suppress _two_ urges, but taking care of one would make the other one worse.

It took forever. By the time Elsa did close the door to her own bedroom, Anna was dancing up and down on one leg. Breathing a sigh of relief, she practically sprinted to the bathroom.

Why did she have to turn into such a weird, awkward creature every time she was around Elsa now? She knew the reason. Not liking it didn't mean she was ignorant. But they both knew it was for the best that they keep their hands off each other; Elsa just believed that a lot more fully and completely.

Even after brushing her teeth and changing into pyjamas, Anna still couldn't get the urges to leave her alone. Not without taking the appropriate measures – and there was no possible way to keep Elsa's voice in the tub, her ass in that robe, out of her mind. How was she supposed to live like this?

~ o ~

The next morning, she felt a little more optimistic. Elsa was going to be her mother, and something like a friend, no matter what happened. That was a fact. A few weird moments of sexual tension could be forgiven as long as they kept working on them.

"So," Elsa said when Anna stumbled in to join her at the breakfast table, where she was already sipping coffee and scrolling through news articles on her phone. "You heard me last night, hmm?"

Anna froze. No. She couldn't possibly mean they were going to talk about this _now_. Right?

Giving a nervous chuckle, Anna tried to play it cool. "Oh yeah. About um. Merida's. I haven't… decided if I'm…" She trailed off when it became apparent that Elsa was incredibly unimpressed by her attempt to play it off.

"You know I'm not talking about that, Anna," she said. Then she sighed and pat the table, inviting Anna to take a seat. Once she did, her mother continued, "I'm sorry you bumped into that; I really thought I had enough time before you came home. And I'm definitely not upset, sweetheart. I just feel like… like ignoring this situation completely only makes it worse?"

At that, Anna snorted. "What, so I should have bust in on you like, 'Hey, need a hand'?"

"NO! God, Anna. I just mean– you clearly know. And I know you know. So I think it's healthier to discuss the issue before we set it aside." Then she paused. "You didn't… do the same, did you?"

Crossing her arms, Anna looked away. "I don't have to answer that."

"Yes, you do. If you stayed to listen in…"

"Oh, THAT!" she squeaked, plopping down harder into the chair than she meant to. "Geez, no way! I mean, not that you didn't sound- it's- y-yeah, I heard you, but then I left when I realised what I was listening to, okay? I'm not some kind of, of… peeping Tom, but with ears, or uh… whatever!"

Sighing, Elsa reached over to pat her hand. "It's alright, I understand. After what happened in my dad's Gremlin, I'd be a moron to expect all the feelings to vanish. That's not what I'm asking of you."

"It's not? Like, it kinda sounds like it is… sometimes… I dunno."

"No, it's not. But we _can_ control our _actions_." Her thumb caressed Anna's hand gently, and she whispered, "Our feelings can't be helped. But we can help how we react to them. Do you understand?"

After a tense moment of enjoying her mother touching her hand, probably too much, she let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Okay, I'm really glad you said that to be honest, because I'm still finding it super hard to forget… things. And ignore things. Like, hearing you last night?" But she bit her lip, cutting off what she had been about to say.

"Go on. Not all the time, but right now… maybe it would be better to release some of that pressure." Elsa cleared her throat and shrugged, cheeks only a little pink. She had mentally prepared for this, it seemed.

"You sounded hot. Like…" This might be her only chance. Might as well go all-in. "Like I wanted to bust the door down and help finish you off. And yeah, I had to do the same thing after I got to bed… but I still wished it was you."

At first, Elsa didn't say anything. Her eyes shut briefly, and she looked… pained. Almost as though she were thinking back to last night. Probably scolding herself.

"I'm sorry," Anna said, voice a rush. "I promise I wasn't _trying_ to think about you when I- I mean, maybe at the beginning, a little, but definitely Jennifer was there at the end. I swear. Uh…"

Elsa had paled, but turned away before Anna had much of a chance to look at her. When she didn't say anything, Anna felt a little panic rising in her chest. "Mom-?"

"I still remember," Elsa interrupted. It seemed that she couldn't bring herself to look up.

"Still remember what?"

"I still remember… how you sounded that night," came the soft admission.

Anna's eyes felt like they were bulging out of her skull. She swallowed, trying to find the words that wouldn't come. Staring at the side of Elsa's face, she finally settled on, "Holy shit."

"You don't know how many times I've thought about it, Anna… how often I've remembered that moment with Tori."

The name did help. Not a lot, considering they both knew Anna and Tori were the same person now… but it put it into perspective. Her moments of reminiscing had probably been mostly before she figured out they were the same person.

"But not as much now?" Anna guessed.

"No. She sneaks in when I least expect her, but… I try not to do that now that I know. Just doesn't seem right. But that doesn't make the memory any less magical for me, Anna."

Clearing her throat, she scooted a little closer, just enough so that she could stretch her arm across the corner of the table and touch Elsa's arm. "Why tell me this now?"

"Because… I don't want guilt to be the reason."

"The reason…?"

"The reason that we don't make a mistake." Finally, she turned back, and her face was more composed. Though she was still pale, other than her rosy cheeks, she was smiling gently at her daughter. "We shouldn't feel bad for what happened in the past, or even how we feel in the present. Just… be more careful for the sake of our future."

"Oh…" Biting her lip for a moment, Anna then whispered, "Does that mean we can't fall asleep in the same bed anymore? Since it's kinda… dangerous?"

"For a while. But!" Her other hand came up to hold aloft an index finger. "I have faith that won't always be a problem. We can get past this. We already are, a couple of setbacks notwithstanding. Just… for a little while, okay?"

Mute, Anna nodded. She didn't want that. And now that Punz knew and was somewhat accepting… she didn't ever want to hurt her girlfriend. But at the same time – and by that very same token – it hurt to have to push Elsa away to do it. They could be a regular family. Anna knew they could.

But what if… she didn't want to? Or, rather, what if she wanted to, but she also wanted the other stuff? Watching Elsa go back to glancing at the news, Anna's eyes traced her jaw, her lips. The incline of her nose and her bright eyes. Despite the age, Elsa was still a beautiful woman. She deserved more than a farcical marriage – full of love, no doubt, but still not really real anymore. Maybe she had Punz, but there had to be something she could do for her mother.

Coming to a sudden decision, she stood up. "We need to get you a date."

"Hmm?" she muttered as she took a sip of her coffee.

"A date. You know, more time with a lady-friend who's not me. So your urges have somewhere to go? A-and I'll do the same with Punz, and it'll get easier. Like you said."

Finally, Elsa looked up at her with a very mild surprise in her eyes. Then she smiled, truly pleased. "Oh, Anna… you're sweet. But I'm fine."

"Really? I mean, the way your sleepy self tried to bang me says maybe you're not." When her mother's lips pursed, she held up a hand. "Just making a point. What if you had another sexy redhead to bring home? Maybe Ariel…"

Laughing now, Elsa set her phone aside to focus fully on their conversation. Seeing Anna pout, she hurried to tell her, "I do appreciate what you're trying to do. Just… well, my daughter having to fix me up with someone to keep me from grinding on her… well, it's a little funny, isn't it?"

"Well… okay, yeah, maybe a little."

"Besides, Ariel is no longer interested. She went back to Eric, they have a daughter. But I suppose I wouldn't have minded trying things with her a second time if given the chance."

"Yeah, and like, you got with dad and had me! Nothing's impossible. But Ariel's not the only fish in the sea. Oh, we should totally make you a dating profile! This is gonna be fun!"

~ o ~

It was not fun.

Well, that wasn't strictly true; making the profile itself was fun. OkCupid had a tonne of stupid questions, and they had a good laugh answering some of them. Others were more informative than Anna was prepared for.

"Oooh, up for a bit of poly action, are we?" she asked, leaning over her mother's shoulder. Elsa snorted a laugh.

"Well, I am technically still married, you know," she said. Anna's eyes widened.

"Do you need to, like… tell Dad?" she asked.

Shaking her head, Elsa turned back to the computer. "No. We came to some clear agreements a very long time ago. The last time we were together was not recently. I think… more out of respect for his feelings, I haven't chased after anyone. I also think he would understand why I'm only now taking advantage of it…"

Anna nodded, thinking. "I'm still just kinda amazed that you and he actually… worked out. I mean, no offense to him – he's a pretty good looking guy – but you were like, uber-lesbian in '85."

"Bisexual," she chastised gently. "But are you kidding? That was your doing, _Tori_." When Anna didn't respond right away, instead merely lifting an eyebrow, Elsa turned from the screen to fix her with a slight smirk. "Oh, come on. You gave some _very_ specific advice to me on several occasions. It sounded weird to me at the time, but since then I've figured out why."

"Huh? What do you-"

"Three children, three years apart? Drinking is something I should never do, not just that I ought to be a little careful? The thing about setting fire to the rug? When you never came back, I started wondering… well, all kinds of things. That you were some kind of guardian angel who had only come to earth long enough to help me be a better person… help me be true to myself. Lots of scenarios that I had no way of proving or disproving."

Elsa was looking away, embarrassed. But Anna didn't laugh. She didn't think it was at all funny, or silly. Her voice was soft as she whispered, "I don't feel like an angel. Just some dumb kid who really screwed up. Did… you really think I was one?"

When Anna couldn't quite meet her eyes, Elsa gently pulled her youngest daughter onto her lap; just as she used to when Anna was small. She looped her arms around her daughter and held on tightly, and eventually Anna embraced her back.

"You are an angel. Just… a more earthly, common, human one who's allowed to make a mistake. Don't beat yourself up so much; thought we agreed on that."

"We did, we did." Clearing her throat, she tried to settle in and get comfortable, despite how much she was enjoying her new seat. "So, you really followed my advice? I was just… I mean, it was stupid for me to give it, I changed the future, but… I like this version of my life better. So, um, all's well that ends well?"

"Mhmm," Elsa hummed, squeezing just a little tighter. "You're my little angel. And considering how my life – and yours – could have turned out… I think a little tension is acceptable. I'd rather love you a little too much than not enough. Plus, the advice about children was to make sure you _saved _our future, so it wasn't all selfish. Which it not only is, but it's better."

The words brought a smile to Anna's lips, and she cuddled in a little further. "Yeah, this is… better," she agreed softly.

"Glad to hear it," she whispered very softly. Her voice was very slightly husky, almost sensual, which sent shivers down Anna's spine… but a moment later, she found out why. "Now, what do you say we close this web page and make plans for tonight?"

Her daughter drew back to glare down at her, seeing a pleasant, casual face gazing up at her. "Elsa Baines-McFly… are you trying to flirt your way out of posting your OkCupid profile?"

"Flirt? Me?"

"You are!" Elsa turned away, still affecting an innocent air, so Anna only laughed and hugged her more tightly. At least they could joke about things now, a little. "Nope. You're posting it, we already put in the work."

"But I'm not really that interested in just… finding some random person online," she finally sighed. "I guess I could try it, but just don't forget that I'm not expecting it to go anywhere."

"Totally fine! It doesn't have to work, but if it _does_ work…"

"Yes, yes, then I can bang someone else and stop running around this house like a cat in heat."

Nodding, Anna pet over her mother's hair. "Even though I don't mind that, I know you do. So, like… it's a good plan. And if it doesn't work at all, we'll move on to another one, right?"

"Right." Elsa leaned up to kiss Anna's cheek, making both of them blush very lightly. Then she turned back to the computer, Anna still seated on her lap. "So what's left to do here? Telling them my blood type and social security number?"

"Nooo," Anna giggled. "Now we gotta find you a girl!"

It was a little trying, at first, navigating the site. Not for any technical difficulties; no, Elsa merely seemed nervous. A slight unwillingness to actually take that step and strike up a conversation.

Anna wanted to offer to leave. She wanted to give Elsa some privacy to browse and look and maybe see if someone caught her eye. But the seventeen-year-old in her was excited to watch, too. Like moving house or getting a new car, there was a thrill that came with watching Elsa step out of her comfort zone and try new things.

Also some of the women looked really good and a few were _definitely_ Elsa's type. A couple might have even been _Anna's_ type, if she weren't already committed to Punz.

By the time they gave up the search, Elsa had two potential dates. Neither one had initiated a longer conversation yet, but she put out the feelers. It was better than nothing.

"Now get off my back," she giggled as she swivelled the chair out from behind the desk. "And my lap."

"What if I want to stay?" Anna asked, a little playfully flirty again.

"Then you'd better start paying rent to live in this chair with me. And figure out a way to make us lunch from here."

The truth was, Anna just really loved the nearness. Having this with her mother the way they never could before. And more, obviously. But she also knew Elsa was right, they needed to go on about their day.

~ o ~

Which they did. After a light lunch, Anna called up her maybe-girlfriend to ask what she wanted to do. When she offhand mentioned the shoe-shopping idea that had been tabled, Punz leapt at the idea so enthusiastically that it made Anna laugh. Maybe there was hope for them, after all.

So an hour or two later, they were in Elsa's sensible car picking up Jennifer from her house. She bounced out, and this time she had a little suitcase with her.

"Oh, what's this?" Elsa said with a slight smile. "Did our itinerary change a little?"

"Just… thought about your offer from before," she said with an eager grin. "Anna was right about last night being a little soon after we patched things up, but tomorrow's Sunday, so… no reason I can't stay longer tonight. But this is just a precaution; if I end up going home, I can just unpack it again. No big."

Shaking her head, Anna turned around to prod one of the knees poking out from under her lavender skirt. "Somebody had big plans and didn't text."

Punz grinned. "Maybe…" she said, all coy.

Anna felt a goofy smile cross her face. It stayed there all the way to the shopping mall. Even if she'd wanted to hide it away, it would have been impossible. It really felt like things were going to work out.

Naturally, though, the shopping didn't stay just on shoes. They went there first – several shoe stores – before moving on, so at least it could be said that they did what they'd set out to. Elsa bought a pair of sensible flats, and another pair of heels. They weren't very big, but they would still go nicely with any smart-casual, bordering-on-formal outfit. Like, say, the kind of outfit one would wear on a date.

Anna bought herself a new pair of sneakers, mostly because they were half-price and bright green, but also because hers had become a little wrecked during her time in 1985. They were cheap and shoddy and the best they could afford before she'd gone and changed everything. It was nice, being able to get something that wasn't three seasons old and a size too small.

Contrary to what she'd expected to happen, Punz didn't hang back. She offered suggestions and laughed and smiled, and it felt so natural. Like a day with her mother and her girlfriend, and there was no weird time-travel business to drag them down. She even let herself get ganged up by the two McFlys, their shared 1980s experience manifesting in them choosing the worst combination of clothes that she could think of. Anna had laughed as she held up a denim vest, complete with a white longsleeve shirt.

"It's not that bad," Anna assured her. "But you definitely could have fit in back then with these."

Punz had looked unconvinced, but she put them on all the same; she even tucked it into her pants, posing and shooting a smirk. Anna just wanted to kiss her – even moreso when she actually bought it.

Her own willingness to try something new was partly how they managed to cajole Elsa into trying on a few more interesting styles that she had tried to avoid. At first, she had barely slipped one on and then off, and they laughed about that. It wasn't until after they went to try on some clothing – Punz picking up a pale blue jacket and a Harry Potter tank top – that they finally got her to cave.

"I'll look ridiculous in these," she said, looking down at the newest boxes as they made it out to the car. "Can't believe you talked me into buying any of them at all."

"You looked so cute, though!" Jennifer was gushing. To her credit, it wasn't only because she thought Anna wanted her to say that; she honestly thought her girlfriend's mother needed them.

"You did, Mom. Seriously. I was kinda skeptical about the ankle boots, but they're all killer. Plus winter's coming up anyway, right?"

"Those boots are hardly winter boots!" she laughed as they got in. "But… thanks for the vote of confidence, girls. Between this and those outfits Anna talked me into, it's like I'm on Extreme Makeover."

While they drove away from the mall parking lot to pick up some Chinese, Anna nudged Elsa's upper arm. "You are. Extreme Makeover: Family Edition!"

"Not that you needed one, Mrs McFly," Punz piped up. Anna could see her mother give a small, but warm, smile.

"Thank you, Jennifer," she said. "I don't know what kind of shenanigans Anna would have wheedled me into if you weren't here."

This time, it was Punz's turn to blush. Anna could see it in the rearview mirror. It was really nice, watching them get along. Some part of her had been terrified that it would be awkward; that Punz would be distant and Elsa would be a try-hard, desperate to prove that the whole situation wasn't as fucked up as it seemed. But that hadn't happened.

Perhaps because they already had a rather good relationship before this. Elsa obviously approved of Punz, and Punz definitely seemed to respect Elsa. It was far better than Anna could ever have hoped for in her old life.

They decided not to bother eating at the restaurant. It was much more comfortable to drive the ten minutes home and actually have a nice meal. If Anna were honest, she was kind of craving something home-cooked, but any occasion where Elsa wasn't drunk or hungover was a cause for celebration in her mind.

It wasn't fair, but it was hard to undo a decade of training. Making sure the floor was clear; that Elsa always had a glass of water on her bedside table. Of drawing the blinds and keeping them shut. Tiptoeing about the house lest she get caught in the middle of her mother's hangover. And it would continue to be challenging. Getting used to the fact that Elsa was different wasn't too bad. Changing how she reacted to things… not so easy.

After dinner and a nice chat, during which they mostly just talked and laughed about random, inconsequential things, they popped a bag of popcorn and retired to the living room to pick a movie. They had finally started trying to talk about the time travel incident a little more, after carefully avoiding it the past few days. Anna could understand; it had taken that long for Punz to adjust.

"And you really couldn't tell she was related to you?"

"Why would I have any reason to suspect that?" Elsa was saying as she set the bowl down, then went back for a tonic water with lime. Yet again, when she got out the tonic Anna was waiting for her to reach for a bottle of vodka or gin, but she skipped that step and went straight for cutting up a lime fresh.

"You're right," Jennifer sighed as she leaned back against the counter next to Anna. She automatically looped her arm around her waist. "Like I said, I'm not trying to… y'know, judge or anything. I've never been in a time machine, so what do I know?"

Smiling slightly, Elsa dropped the citrus wedge into her drink and stirred it in with the ice. "Well… of course I felt an immediate attraction to her. Like a magnetic pull. Me being a senior in high school and definitely not a parent, I had no reason to suspect it was because she was family."

"Yeah, um… I did read up on that Westermarck thing since Anna told me about this. And obviously that has nothing to do with, like, going back and forth through time, but it kind of… like yeah, people are drawn to similarities in each other. So if you see a girl who kinda looks like you, but is different in ways that you like… I guess…"

Anna could tell she looked a little ill to be admitting these things. The whole idea of Anna doing anything non-familial with her mother was still going to be hard for her. So she jumped in with, "Yeah, she has nothing to feel bad about. I'm the one who was an idiot and didn't know how to say 'no' to my own mom."

"Not an idiot," Elsa gently corrected. "Just horny."

"MOM!" Even Punz giggled a little. "Oh, not you, too!"

"Well, you didn't hesitate very long before you went for it with me," Punz needled gently. Anna knew her freckles were disappearing into her blush, but she still pursed her lips and turned away. "Though… I definitely fully understand why you didn't want me to get you back."

"What?" Elsa asked mildly. "Anna didn't let you return the favour?"

Punz shook her head. "Nope. I mean, don't get me wrong – I tried. But she was pretty adamant about uh, 'putting space between the events'." Looking over at Anna, who hadn't said a word, she placed a fond kiss on her cheek. "At the time I was super put out, but I guess it makes sense now, doesn't it?"

Elsa returned, tonic in hand and sitting on the armchair. It had been a silent agreement that Anna and Punz would get the sofa to themselves – and considering where the conversation had gone, it hasn't been a bad idea.

"It didn't feel right. I mean, it'd only been the night before that we were in the car, and…" she trailed off, more for Punz's sake than anything else. They didn't need to go into details.

It was actually Elsa who spoke first, though. "Oh, Anna. You shouldn't punish yourself like that," she said, taking a sip of her drink. Momentarily, Punz's grip tightened. She still didn't speak, though.

"I'm not punishing myself!" she argued. "I just didn't think it was very fair. What if I started thinking about- while she- a-and anyway, why is my sex life so topical? There are more subjects than this one we could talk about!" Then she turned to Punz. "We signed Mom up for a dating site today. Let's see how that goes."

"Oh, you did? What about your dad…?"

At that, Anna turned to Elsa. The older woman put her drink on the coffee table and looked gently at Punz. "Understands. And would be kept in the loop, if such an occasion developed. I'm not going to hold my breath, though."

At that, Punz smiled. "Well, I hope you find a nice girl," she said, and there was genuine honesty in her tone. She did hope Elsa found someone. That thought alone was pretty heartwarming. And then she said something that neither McFly women expected: "If she's anything like Anna, she'll be great."

"We both agree there," Elsa chuckled, though she still looked a little surprised that Punz had drawn that comparison. "Regardless of our encounter in the 80s, my Anna is a wonderful person. Tempted to go into the future and pick up the version that would be my age."

Both girls went silent at that. Elsa took a sip of her tonic water, then seemed to notice that they were shocked, so she lowered the glass very slowly. "I… was joking. Please tell me you know that I'm joking."

Swallowing hard, Anna managed, "Well… I mean… that's pretty… wow."

"You mean a girl _like_ Anna, right?" Jennifer attempted with a nervous laugh, hands white-knuckling on her glass of juice.

"I didn't mean either one seriously!" Elsa exclaimed. "God, haven't we messed around with the timeline enough?!"

"My mommy loves me," Anna muttered to Punz, making them both laugh – even if the latter still was a bit pale. Elsa merely rolled her eyes and went back to her tonic.

"Someone pick something to watch before I find a movie from the forties. How do you feel about Humphrey Bogart?"

The threat seemed to make Anna snatch for the remote right away. The 80s was as far back as she ever wanted to go, both physically and in terms of movies or TV. However, Punz surprised both of them.

"Like 'Casablanca' or the original 'Sabrina'? I'd watch anything with a Hepburn in it."

The two McFlys looked at each other for a moment, before Anna frowned. "I've, uh, I've never seen 'Casablanca'," she admitted. Both Elsa and Punz's face twisted into dual expressions of shock. And some horror, which just made the fact that she'd never watched the classic worth it.

"Well, I suppose that's that," Elsa said with a smile. "'Casablanca' it is."

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Punz/Anna Sensuality.
> 
> Happy Halloween! This is where the plot begins to diverge a lot more from that of the films. Part I followed the movie very closely, but the many little differences made it impossible to stick that close to the Part II script – or close to it at all. So we went where the writing took us.

Turned out that they actually owned a copy of _Casablanca_ on DVD. Perhaps young-Anna had seen it once upon a time, but for adult-Anna, it was a whole new experience. The black-and-white was a bit off-putting at first, but soon she didn't even notice it.

She did, however, notice when Punz leaned into her, taking Anna's hands and wrapping them around her stomach. They hadn't had a chance to discuss labels; not since visiting Doc's. But it seemed as though Punz knew what she wanted. "Girlfriend" felt right, even if they weren't using it yet.

That made her glance over toward her mother. Would she flip out about the PDA? Of course, this wasn't the mother she had left behind a week ago; she was far less prudish. But that didn't mean she would be alright with watching her daughter snuggle that close to another woman. Fortunately, it seemed Elsa was either too engrossed in the film, or didn't care – or both. It meant that Anna could relax into Punz without fear of any kind of backlash, and she found herself enjoying the film…

Though she did have one problem with the movie. No matter how many times she tried to remind herself, she kept mishearing 'Ilsa' as 'Elsa'. The movie had such a romantic story that she couldn't help thinking about her mother as the wavy-haired love interest, and herself as Rick. That probably wasn't what either her mom or Jennifer intended for her to feel as she watched it, but she couldn't seem to help herself with the woman having a name like that – especially when Bogart said that she had worn blue, a colour that Elsa Baines had favoured a lot. She could still remember her dress, her matching nails…

"Anna," Punz whispered very softly into her ear.

"Hm?"

"Um… do you think this is a good idea in front of your mom?"

Only then did she look down and notice that she had begun to pet up and down Punz's stomach, not really thinking about it. She wasn't putting her hands anywhere worse than that, but it was still very vaguely sensual. Feeling stupid, she made her hands go still.

"S-sorry." Then she cleared her throat and said louder, "Anybody want more popcorn?"

"If you do, I'll get it," Elsa said at once, starting to sit up with a knowing smile. "I've seen this a thousand times, but you haven't."

Then she sent herself into the kitchen without any further discussion. Anna's eyes widened and her mind went blank. Her fingernails dug briefly into Punz's stomach, and only released when her girlfriend sat up and turned around. Their faces were inches apart, and in the low light, Punz looked almost ethereal.

"Punz?" she murmured. She could hear Elsa clattering about the kitchen, making far more noise than was necessary for popcorn.

The movie was forgotten as Punz adjusted her legs, falling open so she was straddling Anna. And Anna _wanted_. Perhaps the stomach-stroking was her subconscious coming out to play. Punz was gorgeous and comfortable and Anna wanted more.

Trembling, she leaned up, leaving a light kiss on Punz's lips. When the other girl didn't complain – she actually grinned, and bopped their noses together – Anna did it again, pressing harder and holding longer.

A long quiet sigh flowed from Punz as she kissed her, and her arms wrapped around Anna's back. This wasn't very smart…

But on the other hand, maybe it was important they do this. Start establishing normal routines – or reestablishing. For all she knew, the Anna who had never existed from this timeline had made out with Jennifer in front of Elsa all the time… though if she were to guess, probably not.

Microwave beeps: inputting time. Elsa was definitely stalling. Anna let her hands fall down to grip her girlfriend's firm cheeks, and she felt them clench under her touch. She felt so good sitting there in her lap.

Was this how good it felt earlier when she was sitting in Elsa's?

No! She had to stop doing that, had to stop thinking about her mother. Her lips parted and she felt an eager tongue slip through them, and moaned as softly as she could so it wouldn't carry over the sound of the movie and the microwave humming. Her own tongue welcomed the alien one, twirling and dancing with it as a pair of hips tried to grind down against her own.

"Hmmhh," Jennifer breathed as she broke the kiss. "Tonight, after the movie… I want to taste more of you."

"I…" Clearing her throat, she glanced over at the kitchen as she whispered, "Are you sure that's… a good idea? With everything-"

"I want what I want."

Anna knew better than to argue with her; the two Jennifers were almost identical, unlike the old and new versions of Elsa McFly. So she decided that if Jennifer knew that her mother might be drifting very slightly in the background of her mind, and she didn't care… then she had done her duty in telling her girlfriend the truth. Might as well just enjoy their time together and not sweat the details.

Of course, that meant she had to sit through the rest of the film while really wishing she were elsewhere. Elsa brought out the popcorn a few minutes later – though she'd called out beforehand, allegedly to ask if they wanted another drink, too. It gave them time to get into slightly more appropriate positions, though Anna had little doubt that Elsa knew what had happened.

Whatever doubt she did have vanished when, as the credits rolled, Elsa stood up and gave a loud – though obviously real – yawn. She collected the popcorn bowl and the empty glasses as Anna rolled off the couch and took the movie out of the DVD player.

"You girls don't be too loud, okay?" Elsa said as she passed them. Anna froze. Elsa continued with a, "Volume stays under 15, got it?" though Anna was sure she was talking about something else.

Luckily, Punz still had her wits about her. "Don't worry, Mrs McFly. We won't keep you up, I promise."

Elsa smiled, and gave them both a wave. "Thank you. Good night!" And then she was off down the hallway. Her door squeaked open, and then the latch clicked shut. They were alone, and Anna had no idea what to do next.

"Tell me this isn't weird," she demanded of Punz.

"Okay, it's not weird." When Anna blinked at her, she shrugged and settled in against her. Not quite angling for the goalposts yet. "You told me to tell you."

"Yeah, fine, hilaroius. Now tell me what you really think."

With a small shrug, she petted up and down Anna's stomach. "Very weird. But… not as 'gross' as it was a couple of days ago. It's just, like… I keep thinking stuff like 'this is my life now, hanging out with Anna's mom who suddenly doesn't care if we're banging in the same house.' Like I'm in some kind of out-of-body experience."

"Well, I don't want that," she purred, trying for a flirty voice but sounding too nervous to quite pull it off. "You should stay in your body. I love your body; you've got a great body." That earned her a little giggle. "I'm serious!"

"Yeah? You want to see more?" Her eyebrows waggled as she drew back, but then she ducked her head lower. "Um… you know for sure your mom won't come out, right? I mean… I don't want to… like, I'm not trying to say she's a perv, but…"

"Nah, she won't. Not after she made all those really obvious mentions of her going to bed and for us to be quiet."

Biting her lip and obviously nervous, Punz still nodded. "Well… lead the way."

Anna's heart was beating a samba in her chest, breath coming short. She was so warm, and she just wanted to share this moment with Punz. And Punz obviously wanted to share it with her. Flicking the TV off, she stood up, wobbling a little. She hadn't expected her legs to be so unsteady – at least, not before they really got started.

Conversely, Punz just looked so calm. Maybe she was – and honestly, that was what Anna needed. Taking her hand, they walked to Anna's bedroom, and made sure to close the door behind them. Punz reclined on Anna's bed, gazing up with a slight smile as she moved to her iPod doc. When Anna loaded up a song, she grinned up at her.

"You're really going to put on 'The Midnight' for this?"

"We need white noise," she told her pointedly with a slight flush in her cheeks. "To make sure we aren't overheard! And I put on the instrumental version, so give me a break, okay?"

"I'm teasing, it's fine," Punzie laughed as she was rejoined on the bed. Then she bit her lip for a moment and whispered, "Did… you want me naked? Or do you wanna do that part?"

"What?!"

"N-no, just… sorry."

"It's not a big deal, I just… sorry, this is so new, and after the weirdness…" Clearing her throat, she patted Punz's hip. "If you wanna do a little striptease, I'll get my wallet and pull out a bunch of ones?"

Anna had expected her lighthearted banter to provoke a giggle, perhaps cause Punz to boop her nose. Instead, her girlfriend took a couple of steps away from her and started swaying gently to the music, closing her eyes slowly. Her hands started low, just on her thighs, but slowly, seductively, slid up her toned body. The tripped from the border of her jeans, across the thin pale strip of her stomach, to the edges of her shirt.

"Jesus," Anna whispered, her throat suddenly dry.

Jennifer half dragged her shirt up, exposing her toned stomach, as she gyrated to the music, her beauty exaggerated by the strange low lighting provided by Anna's bubble lamp, the liquid filled tube casting everything in a soft orange glow. Punz dragged her shirt up just below her bra, exposing a tantalising amount of skin before gently letting it flutter down again as she raised her hands above her head and did a full body wiggle down to the floor.

Truthfully, when it came down to it, she was a gangly teen who had barely reached adulthood. But the mere fact that it was _Punz_, pushing outside her comfort zone and putting on a display like this just for Anna, was enough to make it sexy – more than enough, really. So Anna stepped forward, hands coming up to rest on Punz's waist. She stopped dancing, instead stepping closer to Anna until their fronts touched.

"Hey," she said, voice low and soft. The music played in the background and they swayed to it, a minute shift from side-to-side. When Punz spoke again, the roughness of her voice made it almost impossible to actually listen to the words.

"Kiss me."

So she kissed her. And with no small amount of enthusiasm, either; her lips crashed into Punz's with more force than they ever had before, pushing her back into the closet door. A little yelp of surprise sounded in her maybe girlfriend's throat, but it quickly simmered down into a mewling as her hands traced their way up Anna's back, fisting in the fabric of her shirt.

Then they began to strip each other. Now that it was happening, Anna knew they had made the right choice; it was so much more fun to feel desperate hands yanking her shirt open so hard that buttons flew in all directions, her own raking past Jennifer's back and earning a hiss of mild pain as she scratched her in her haste to pull the shirt up and over her head.

"God, Anna," she panted as it was thrown to one side, lips falling to the top of her bra making her throw her head back. "Do you… know what you do to me?"

All she could manage to whisper was "Punz…" as she began to unhook it with fumbling fingers. In the back of her mind, she was scared that she wouldn't be as good at doing it from this direction as she was behind her own back, but then it popped open and the relief was palpable.

This actually wasn't the first time she had seen Punz naked. No, that was in the gym showers; very briefly, through a haze of steam or before a towel obscured the fun details. But this was the first time she was seeing her in any kind of intimate setting… and she was liking what she could gaze upon so far.

But then Punz moved, leaning forward to rid Anna of her own bra while her lips caressed the flesh of her chest. She felt unbelievably warm, and unbidden, her hips began to cant forward. Her body already ached for more than the gentle touches Punz was giving her.

"P-Punz," she whimpered, back arching as her bra fell to the floor.

The sensation of Jennifer's lips, pressing kisses onto her pebbled nipples, was enough to have her crying out a moan. The single part of her brain still functioning let out a small celebration at her foresight at turning on her iPod. Thank God for The Midnight.

"You sound so good, Anna," Punz whispered – worshipped – against her skin. The feeling almost had her moaning again, but she was able to redirect it into an actual – if fragmented – sentence: "Bed, now."

Punz wasted no time in moving; the last thing Anna wanted was for her to remove her lips, but she knew it would be for the best. They weren't ready for anything any more adventurous than a low-light bedroom with music playing.

Also, her mother was just down the hallway. That was a whole other can of worms.

"Oh God," she groaned, tipping onto the bed, Punz falling on top of her. They both still wore their bottoms, but they may as well have not been there at all. When Punz rolled her hips, a soft sight escaping her mouth, Anna could have growled in frustration. She needed to be touched. Like, a week ago, but stupidly she had refused.

Tonight, there would be no refusals. Even if she thought about Elsa, even if she was nervous-yet-excited-yet-losing-her-mind, she couldn't do that to Punz twice in a row. This time, she was going to let this happen. Let herself enjoy connecting with her girlfriend-like person in a new way.

A minute or two later, lips began to pass back down between her peaks, hands hooked over the waistband of her jeans. Jennifer pulled for a moment in mild frustration before forcing herself to stop and unbutton them, and Anna wanted to laugh but she also wanted to kiss her again. She wanted everything…

"Mmmm," Punz purred up at her the moment the fly was open and the jeans pushed down an inch or two. "God, you smell wonderful…"

"R-really?" This time, Anna couldn't help the laugh, soft and full of anxiety and love. However, something about that proclamation was jogging her memory…

As Punz continued pulling the jeans the rest of the way down, it hit her, full force. That word, 'wonderful' – it was the exact word that Elsa had used to describe her scent. The rest of the words were different, circumstances were… and yet that single word had been shared by the only two women to get this close to her.

As her legs were lifted, the denim peeled off and left behind, visions of purple panties being slid down her legs returned to her with the vividness of a movie playing on a screen. She could almost feel a cold windshield against her ankle – wait, that was Punz's lips. Not the same ankle Elsa had kissed… but still, how could these instances be so similar? Maybe everyone always experienced things that way. Constant déjà vu. Hands glided up her thighs, Punz licking her lips with a little gleam in her eye. At least that was different: Elsa had looked terrified, guilty. Punz was a little nervous about making Anna happy, but otherwise completely sure of herself. Then the mouth was getting closer, and her mind went blank.

"I want you," she breathed very softly.

Punz didn't wait. Her lips grazed the inside of Anna's thigh, kissing the pale, freckled skin before moving on. After all, it wasn't the prize she was seeking. Once more, Anna couldn't control her body as it arched, trembling when Punz pressed her lips against Anna's cloth-covered center. The sensation was muted – and it wasn't what had Anna gasping, fists clenching.

No, it was the mere fact that after everything, Jennifer still chose her. It was Anna that Punz wanted to please, regardless of all that had happened. It was Anna that she loved.

"P-Please," she choked out, squeezing her eyes shut. And Punz obeyed. With barely a thought, the underwear came down too, baring Anna to the only girl she'd ever wanted to do this with. It wasn't in a car, Punz hadn't been drinking. It was a more perfect location for a first time, if one ignored the fact that her mother was just a few rooms over. The thought of Elsa hearing her sent a wild tingle up her spine – though it also may have been Punz, kissing her lower lips with all the softness that she would kiss her upper ones.

The two women had very different techniques. She didn't want to make that comparison, but this time, she knew it was unavoidable; she only had one other experience to compare it to. Punz was actually a little more tender and sweet, while Elsa had been raw urgency. Understandable, in both cases.

And it was good. It only took a few light kisses before she was moaning a little more freely, arching her back. Completely open to the devouring lips.

"Mmmm," Jennifer hummed against them, and her hips twitched on their own. She pushed up to smile at her. "You like that."

"I like it! Holy shit, do I like it!" They both shared a grin. "Punz… do you? Like this, I m-mean…"

"Hell yeah. I've been wanting to taste you for a really long time." The darkness in her eyes convinced Anna not to question how long; she was ready to do more, and waiting for permission.

So Anna gave it, hooking her calf behind Punz's neck and drawing her back down to get to work. It felt incredible! Fingertips pressed into either side of her wetness, drawing her open a little more so a cautious tongue could make its way between. It was lighting her on fire, filling her with a level of lust that she didn't even know she could tap into before.

Nothing compared to this. Not even Elsa. It felt like more than just a fuck in the backseat of the parents' car – probably because it was. There was an undeniable something between them, something that had very nearly been ruined by Anna's recklessness. But Punz had believed in her, trusted her, and they had made it through. _Were_ making it through.

"Oh God!" Anna cried after one particularly pleasant swipe. It must have done something to Punz, because she let out a low, long moan at the sound. Her lips closed around the delicate nub at the top of Anna's slit, tongue gently teasing it.

And then, she moaned again. _"Ngh!_ P-Punz!" she hissed, hips rolling harder and faster as the vibrations cut through her clit. It only seemed to encourage Punz further, and as much as Anna tried, she couldn't hold back the moans of complete bliss.

"You're so beautiful, spread out for me like this," Punz said. The talk was dirty, and at any other time, Anna would have laughed at it coming from her sweet, nerdy friend. Not now. The raw, husky sound of Punz's voice seemed to cut straight to her core. The words themselves were like a verbal aphrodisiac, setting Anna further alight.

"FUCK!" Anna exclaimed, though it came out no louder than a breathy gasp. Oddly enough, just around the time she had been wondering if the teasing fingers would get any closer to going inside… they didn't need to. Anna came hard, gasping out in pure shock at how sudden it felt. But she couldn't help herself.

Lips pulling off briefly, Punz replaced them with teasing fingers on her clit as she said, "That sounded like fun."

"Ohhhh," she groaned out, voice just scarcely louder now. "It was! I did… you made me… Great Scott…"

"Sounds like you came, alright." Her lips grazed over other lips as the fingers kept up their little circles. "Want me to see if you can, um… give a repeat performance?"

She did. Anna couldn't get the words out, but she nodded and bumped Punz's back with her heel very gently, and her girlfriend flashed a wicked, pleased grin up at her as she fell to work. The sweet grin wrapped around her clit again as her fingers drifted down, gliding up and down along the ample moisture that had gathered. The skill was far beyond anything she had ever expected her to achieve.

Either Jennifer had done this before, or she had been practicing on an oyster or something.

"O-oh…" Anna breathed. She was sensitive, and Punz seemed to realise that without even being told because her touches became all feather-light and tentative. Whatever she did last time had been great, but it was evident that Anna would need something a little different if they wanted to go again.

Latching her lips to the inside of Anna's thigh, Punz sucked long and deep, and Anna sucked a breath in through her teeth. When she pulled away, even in the low light she could see a bruise forming. Then ever so slowly, she trailed a finger down, away from Anna's clit to circle at her entrance.

This was going to be a completely different experience altogether. One that Anna hadn't even really tried on her own, much less with anyone else. In this way, Punz was going to be her first.

"God," she breathed as she felt the fingers begin to edge their way inside. An appropriate outcry. Somehow, with the light kisses on her clit and the dull ache leftover from the mark on her thigh, it made a holy trinity.

Punz pulled off just enough to whisper, "More?" When Anna whimpered and nodded, she began to edge her fingers inside little by little. It somehow felt both wrong and right at the same time… but she didn't care about the part that felt wrong. That could wait until morning, or maybe never.

Once the fingers were all the way in, Anna almost felt relief mixing with the pleasure. Part of her had been worried they might encounter an obstacle, or that it would hurt. Of course it wouldn't. Punz was with her. Nothing could hurt her right then and there.

And then Punz pulled her fingers out, just a little. Enough to drag along Anna's inner walls and have her spasming in pleasure. The noises she made were more subdued, however – barely more than breathless gasps as her hips twitched gently under Punz's ministrations.

This time it was the slow build. Everything Punz did inched Anna towards a second climax. Every lick and thrust hand her calling silently out to a nameless god, to her girlfriend's tongue and lips and fingers. Her hand came up to her breast, merely rubbing the palm of her hand over the pebbled nipple. She had touched herself before, but this was beyond madness.

Her girlfriend noticed, though she did nothing to show she had other than to meet her eyes for a moment and smile. Anna could understand; when she had Punz like this, writhing under the touch of her fingers, she had been fascinated to watch her reactions, too.

Every minute was like a dream. Even though she did find her mind flicking back to Elsa, either doing this for her or moaning in the bathtub, it was a lot less than she had been worried she might. Jennifer Punzel was no 'consolation prize'; she was a sublime being. One who deserved undivided attention, whether or not she had been demanding such.

It felt like no time at all had passed when she felt her second climax building to a breaking point, but the song had changed a couple of times. How many, she couldn't be sure; music was the last thing on her mind.

"Yes," she finally panted, trying to give her vocal reassurance. To do better than wordless moaning and grasping of her own body. "Punz… it's s-so good! Mmmhh, more!"

"Mmm are you close, baby?" Punz murmured, only just loud enough to be heard. Anna clenched her eyes but didn't respond. It only seemed to prompt Punz into doubling her efforts. "Cmon, tell me. Tell me how close you are."

"I'm so – ngh! – so fucking… close…" Words became hard, and beneath the surges of pleasure rushing through her, Anna knew she was grateful when Punz stopped demanding a verbal answer.

Well, one that was sensical and coherent, anyway. The slow buildup was taking her higher than before; higher than she'd ever thought possible. Each touch felt like it would be the last – her body couldn't take any more. The sheer need she felt, the desperation to finally achieve her release, was unprecedented. Never before had she needed another's touch as much as she did in this moment.

"OH! Oh God, Punz, I-"

"Shhh…." came Jennifer's soft voice. "You can do it baby. Come for me."

With a clench of her eyes and a final gasp, Anna did just that. Everything around her went white as she rode out the orgasm. She wasn't even thinking of Punz anymore, or Elsa for that matter. Her entire focus was on her own body and how close it came to blending with the fabric of the universe.

A minute or so later, she collapsed backward completely, panting with exhaustion. The first one hadn't taken it out of her this hard, but the second one bowled her over and left her defenseless. Punz licked her fingers clean one last time as she crawled on top of her, settling down just a bit to one side.

"Hey."

"H-hi," Anna managed in a broken voice, smile bleary and weak. As she took deep, rejuvenating breaths, she managed to raise one hand to drift up and down Punz's nude back. "Wow…"

"Yeah," she agreed with a quick laugh of disbelief. Then they both giggled. "Mmm, do you know how incredible you sounded? Like, I wanted to record that and set it as my ringtone."

"Shut up." A little kiss on her lips; it was vaguely sweet, tasting of her own essence, but she tried to ignore that and just focus on whom she was kissing.

"And don't worry about getting me back. You… look like you're about to pass out."

Sitting up on her elbows, Anna tried to protest, but Jennifer pushed her right back down and kissed her again. Unable to even put up that much of a fight, she kissed back, mewling into the contact as they lost themselves in it for another song or two.

"Wow," she finally breathed when they parted, lying on their sides and gazing into each other's eyes.

"Yeah. Wow." They giggled, heads pressed close as though they were sharing a secret.

"I love you," Anna murmured softly. "And- and not because of what we just did. Or… what you did for me…"

Letting out another low chuckle, Punz pressed her lips against Anna's cheek; her nose and throat and collar were all fair game, too. "I know you do. I love you too, Anna. Despite everything that happened, I wouldn't trade it for the world…"

Anna kissed her deeply then. Ignored the protests of her aching, albeit sated, body to roll atop Punz and embrace her. Vaguely she recognised the song ending and the playlist starting up again. God, had it been that long?

"I still want to return the favour," she said finally, looking at her girlfriend. Punz bit her lip and gave a small smile.

"We do have… basically forever, you know?"

This time, it was Anna's turn to give a wicked little grin. "Oh good. I'll start tomorrow morning, shall I?"

"Heh, only if you're not still wiped," Punz retorted. Anna didn't bother to reply; she just leaned down and kissed her again. Shifting a little, Punz got Anna to roll off her until they were on their sides, looking at one another. They kissed until both were too exhausted to continue; after that, they cuddled. There was something that felt so good about being this close to Punz, nothing between them.

Anna could definitely get used to it.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, opening [this](https://ko-fi.com/jxsleator) up to anybody who feels like throwing a couple of bucks into my piggy bank so I don’t have to deal with this broken ass phone and having no car! Nobody is obligated, I won’t hold my fanfics hostage, nothing like that. But any donation helps keep me from going crazy thanks to outdated technology and meager Day Job Income™ that barely pays bills. Every little bit is appreciated!
> 
> (NOTE: If you are specifically donating to show love for Fractal The Future, please include “FTF” or “Fractal The Future” in the message field and I’ll shoot half your donation to my cowriter Fruipit!)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Elsanna. Sensual footrub. Also, copious fluffiness elsewhere.
> 
> As I said in my Queen of Temperance update, it's going to be a little slower during November due to NaNo. Also, if you want to help me avoid bankruptcy you can donate to me at: [Ko-Fi dot com slash jxsleator](https://ko-fi.com/jxsleator)!

The next morning, Anna was awoken by a gentle hand in the small of her back. It took her a few minutes for the state of her life to come back to her, but eventually the details filtered into her brain. And they began to stir the most wonderful glow of happiness in the middle of her chest.

"Mmmmhhh," she moaned into the pillow, eyes still closed but lips beginning to pull into a smile. "God, sexy, let me wake up enough to go down on you first."

"Oh? Well, with an offer like that, maybe I can delete my profile."

Anna's eyes shot wide. That was definitely not Jennifer. She didn't even have to guess who it was. Gulping, she slowly rolled over onto her back, gazing up at Elsa's bemused face. She could feel the cool air of late Autumn on her bare chest and shoulders, only somewhat deterred by the heating.

"I… um…"

"Thought I was Jennifer," she finished easily for her, being kind enough to suppress her belly laugh. "Still, you might want to be more careful who you say things like that to, Anna."

"MOM! Shit, I didn't mean- holy Christ, I'm sorry! Damn… how hard did I crash that I couldn't even tell it was you?"

One of her shoulders shrugged. Now she could tell that Elsa was fully-dressed, and she normally wouldn't be on a Sunday morning – either version of her. Though occasionally that other Mom made it to church, even then she wouldn't look this nice. "Probably pretty hard after all that screaming last night."

Instantly, Anna's face heated up. She also became intimately aware that she was still naked, that her breasts were responding to the cool morning air. And Elsa hadn't looked away. She wasn't staring down Anna's boobs, but they would most definitely have been in her periphery.

Elsa seemed to become aware of it at the same moment, because she took a step back from the bed. "Just wanted to let you know that I'll be out of the house for most of the morning. I have a few errands to run but I'll be back later."

"Ugh, you couldn't have just left a message?" Anna complained, rolling over. Yep, there was Jennifer, the little spoon and still fast asleep.

"I could have, but this was more fun," Elsa laughed. Anna gave a groan and pressed her head further into Punz's back.

"Bye, Mom."

Elsa's chuckle could be heard all down the hallway. Then, there was the sound of the front door opening and closing, and finally, quiet. Anna took a breath, then sighed… and was completely shocked when Punz sat up, very obviously _not_ asleep.

"Well… that was super awkward."

"You were awake?" Anna groaned feebly, still trying to burrow into the waistband of Punz's jeans. They had never come off, though everything else had.

"Yeah. Um… I kinda figured it would be easier if I just kept my mouth shut and waited for her to leave, instead of turning around and showing your mom my nip-nops."

"True. Like… ugh, I really thought she was you, since I fell asleep next to you… how dumb am I? I was already hugging you, that doesn't make any sense!"

Punz giggled and rolled more fully to embrace her. "Not dumb. Sleepy. It's okay, you know." Then she pressed a very gentle kiss to Anna's nose, eyes dancing with humour. "It was cute, and funny. Don't sweat it, McFly."

"Well…" There was really no point in fighting her on that. Shrugging one shoulder, she drew her girlfriend in for a long hug. "I guess even though my mom had to stare at my boobs while she teased me about screaming last night is still better than how my old mom would have reacted."

At that, she heard another sigh from Punz – this one a lot less amused. "Yeah… not that I know what she's like from personal experience, but… sounds pretty bad."

"Yeah. I'm glad I messed up the timeline thing, I guess. Weird and unhealthy as letting her go down on me was, it kind of… fixed my life. For the most part."

"It hasn't come without some problems though…" Punz commented. Anna shrugged.

"Trust me when I say that this is much better than before."

Punz merely looked at her for a second before saying, "Okay." Just like that. There was an awkward silence shared between them before it became too great, and Punz broke it. "So, breakfast? What do you feel like?"

Chuckling, Anna rolled so she could more properly look at her girlfriend. "You," she said simply before kissing her. Punz didn't have a single complaint.

~ o ~

By the time they actually got out of bed, it was no longer time for breakfast and was actually venturing past brunch and well into a full-fledged lunch. Luckily, Elsa wasn't around to further poke fun at them. Good-natured as it was, Anna preferred to avoid further embarrassment. Which was probably why she still wasn't back yet, to be fair; she could be remarkably perceptive like that.

Once they had dug up some cereal and fixed themselves a couple of bowls, they took turns showering quickly – still a little shy of each other to jump right into sharing a bath like that. Elsa came back while Punz was still finishing in the bathroom, and Anna was seated in the living room watching TV, to give her space. She had a couple of bags of things, and Anna popped up to help her.

"Thank you," she said with a slight smile as they got the bags onto the kitchen counter. "Whoo… sometimes I want to sign up for one of those delivery services, but it just seems like such a waste of money."

"Yeah, I guess." Elsa McFly, even just _contemplating_ not doing something for herself, sounded very odd to her ears.

"How did you two get along while I was gone? Sleep in a bit more?"

"Um, yeah. A little. Then we ate breakf- uhhh, brunch, and Punz is just finishing her shower."

The coy smile was back. She knew it wouldn't stay away for long. "Surprised you didn't join her."

"We thought about it. But… I dunno, we're… taking our time, kind of. Spacing out the big events or whatever."

"I get you." After putting away a loaf of sweet brioche, which Anna didn't even know what that was much less expect her mother to get one, she turned and cupped her cheek. "Please don't feel weird about any of this. I just want you two to feel comfortable here. Safe, accepted."

Anna's eyes fell down. She appreciated the sentiment, and couldn't help the smile that formed when Elsa leaned forward to kiss her softly on the forehead. "Thanks, Mom," she said. "I mean, I don't think we'll be able to talk Mrs Punzel into being this cool. Though I think we'll wait for you to uh… not be here next time."

"Perhaps that would be for the best." The shower stopped running, and Elsa dropped her hands. Giving a smile, she returned to the other side of the counter. "Now, why don't you help your poor old mother put away the groceries?" she asked. Anna snorted.

"Please, Mom, you're not that old. And even if you are, like… _daaaaamn._"

Instead of admonishing her for cursing, Elsa just winked.

~ o ~

Ten minutes later saw Punz join them, hair damp but drying, wearing a cute outfit that the other version of Jennifer Punzel would never have been caught dead in. There was flannel. It was hot.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked with a slight grin as Elsa brewed them some tea. Punz dropped into a chair at the dinner table with a grin.

"From your closet, dumbass. Why, do you like it?" When Anna nodded, her grin got even wider. "I'm glad."

"It suits you," Elsa said from the kitchen. Punz started a little. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

But Jennifer shook her head. "N-nah, it's your house. I just jumped since you were gone when I woke up."

Letting out a soft, contented sigh, Anna reached across the table and took up both of her girlfriend's hands, squeezing them and staring into her eyes. It didn't take very long to see her relax. Then she said, "I should have warned you; that's on me."

"I said it's fine, God!" But she was smiling again. "Anyway, what did I miss?"

"Not much," Elsa called out to them. "Groceries. And you two don't have to feel like you need to hang around here all day just to keep me company; I'd love to entertain you, but I could just as easily get some work around the house done while you're out."

With a light shrug, she asked, "What do you think, Punz?"

Once more, Punz started, though this was more from surprise than shock. It wasn't until Elsa stood in the door to the kitchen, a tea towel in one hand and a wet glass in the other that she started to answer.

"I uh, well," she began. "I don't really- I was thinking… you're cooler than I thought you'd be."

The final few words were said in such a rush that Anna almost missed it. Elsa did not. Her cheeks pinked, a very faint colour that gave away just how pleased she was at the compliment, and her hands stilled. Punz had blushed a little, as well – she probably hadn't meant to tell Elsa at all, but out it came.

Luckily, Anna was there to at least attempt to dispel the awkwardness with a, "So, I guess the 'hang with Mom' votes have it." She gave a grin that tried to be cheeky but was slightly closer to 'uneasy'. It was a combination of the conversation this morning and the way Elsa had held her before that was the cause.

"Well, then," Elsa said, returning to the glass. It was absolutely dry by now, but no one wanted to mention it. "Why don't I finish what I'm doing and you girls can think of something for us to do?"

She didn't wait for a response, instead simply turning on her heel and retreating out of sight. In a much quieter voice, Anna whispered, "You really wanna hang out with my mom? I mean… I'm game for it if you are, but you don't have to just for me. Seriously."

"Nah, it's cool. I mean, she's always seemed like a good mom to you and that kind of thing, but I never… well, she's old. OldER! She's so much older that I didn't expect to enjoy hanging out with her more than with my own mom, I guess."

By that point, Anna was trying not to burst out laughing in her face. Deciding to be productive instead of making Punz feel any worse, she leaned in and kissed her cheek. "It's a good thing. So what do you think? Maybe we all go out to dinner, or… I dunno, bowling? What do you do with your suddenly-not-terrible mom and your girlfriend?"

"Um, you got me. Another movie? But at a theater this time? What did your mom like to do in the 80s?"

_'Me,'_ Anna thought with slight skip over a heartbeat. But she decided that was better left unsaid. "Well, I don't think she'd be interested in another house party. Let's start with going out for lunch and figure it out from there?"

~ o ~

So that's precisely what they did. Simple food at Applebee's, then they ended up popping into a Goodwill for an hour or so. Both Elsa and her daughter could better appreciate some of the 80s styles and artefacts, and Jennifer laughed to watch them with this new shared interest. She sneakily got them an old Bangles vinyl, and they both gushed over it enough to make it clear it had been a good choice.

Anna felt a lot of mixed feelings when her girlfriend emerged from the dressing room wearing a tube top and a leather miniskirt. All she could think of was Elsa, and in the wrong ways. Of course, Elsa's only reaction was to laugh and clap, then remark that the look suited her; she didn't seem to hold those same feelings that it was too reminiscent of their 'affair' from the past. Which only made sense, given those fashion choices had simply been a part of life for her all the time, not specifically tied to a week-long affair.

Then they settled on a bowling alley to cap off their night. As it turned out, Elsa and Kristoff had spent a lot of evenings this way, and she wiped the floor with the younger girls. Maybe she wasn't good enough to go professional, but it was enough to discourage them slightly.

"I'm sorry," the woman was laughing at their dejected faces as they picked at the pizza they had ordered sent to their lane. "Best of five?"

The girls didn't do any better than before, but after the first game neither were actually trying to win. It was all just about having fun – and they did. When Anna slipped on the waxed floor, crashing onto her butt and just sitting there afterward, both Elsa and Punz simply looked at each other for a second before breaking into laughter. Anna had acted affronted, but really she was just grateful that her mother and her girlfriend were getting along as well as they were.

It certainly made the pain in her backside worth it – doubly so when she hobbled over to them, grumbling, and they both tried to make her feel better with hugs and a few light cheek-kisses. It certainly worked.

In the end, Elsa completely annihilated them, but there were no hard feelings whatsoever. Seeing Elsa so full of life wasn't so strange anymore – seeing her actually _living_ was, a bit.

"I kinda wanna do this every weekend," Anna said as they sat down to pull their shoes off.

"Perhaps not every weekend," her mother said with a pleasant smile, taking a moment to rub one of her feet before she slipped her own shoes back on, setting the bowling shoes in the seat next to her. "But now and then, I think it makes for a wonderful change of pace."

Nodding vigorously, Jennifer paused to take a long drink of her soda. "Like, might get boring if we did it all the time. But we could do other stuff! Of course, Merida and Jane might start to get jelly. Or we could invite them along…"

"I don't think that'd work the same way, Punz," Anna laughed.

"Why not?"

"Because… I mean, they don't know about the, um…"

She glanced at Elsa, who was gazing back at her with a knowing gleam. It made her want to kiss her. Even after everything they had been through that weekend, she still felt that slight pull… probably always would. But she could resist. That was what she was learning, thanks to her mother's years of expertise: knowing they wanted to do things, but also knowing it wasn't required.

"Ah… good point," Punz was saying as she finished pulling on her sneakers and standing up. "But hey, they don't know what they're missing."

"Well, thank you very much, Jennifer," Elsa said, and Anna could tell she meant it. The small, sweet smile gave it away. "Now then, I think we should drop you off and head home. Or…"

"Or?"

"Or we could drop by a frozen yoghurt stand before we call it a night?"

There was no complaint from either girl. The cheeky smile on Elsa's face was infectious, and only a little unexpected now. It seemed that Punz wasn't the only one surprising Anna. If she has to guess, she'd say that Elsa also enjoyed spending time with Jennifer.

The thought made sure her smile didn't vanish, and it remained on her face all the way to the local froyo place. It was new – at least, it hadn't existed in the other McFly timeline. It was a cute place, too; kitsch and cozy, It was also quite empty. The only other person around was a bored, bespectacled teenager who frankly seemed a little too excited that they finally had customers.

Punz chose a seat close to the window – not that much could be seen. The sun had set and Anna hadn't realised how late it had become. The time had flown by so effortlessly while she'd been surrounded by her girlfriend and her mother. It was nice. Really, it was better than she had dared to dream.

The good feeling followed them both all the way back to the Punzel house, and was only very slightly marred by Anna having to say goodbye to her for the day. Tomorrow, they would be in class together.

On the way home, Anna leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder and she wasn't pushed away. She felt her mother tense for a moment, but then relaxed easily enough, even leaning over to press a gentle kiss into the top of her head. The perfect weekend.

Back at the house, Elsa immediately went for the bedroom, and Anna understood. This was pretty late for both of them given how early they needed to be up. She wanted to ask if they could snuggle for a while, but they both knew what that could lead to. Maybe it was best that they not.

Still, her head was filled with memories of how good Punz had made her feel as she got ready and slipped into her own sheets. Ones she was going to cherish forever.

~ o ~

"Okay, be honest. Now that we're alone… you really had fun?"

Punz rolled her eyes as they made their way down the hall. "I said I did, didn't I? Your mom's pretty great. She was before, but like, she also did that mom thing where they act like you're 'too young' to hang out with them. But I think… this was how she would be all along. The Elsa McFly I know, anyway; couldn't say anything about the one you grew up with.

Anna couldn't say much about that version, either. But, it seemed as though Punz wanted something, and how could Anna refuse her? The mere fact that Punz was accepting all of this as true was a miracle unto itself; providing details was the least she could do.

"She was…nice. When she was sober, which wasn't often. I think- well, it felt like she blamed me for how crummy her life had been, but I think now she just hated herself…"

A memory surfaced: walking out the front door on a cold Saturday, Elsa crying, watching her go. Anna had said she'd be back, had promised. She hoped that version of Elsa no longer existed. That she wasn't part of a sad alternate timeline. She hadn't been a great mom, or even a really great person. But maybe she still deserved a bit of peace…

"Do you think it would be weird for me to say… that I feel more like my real mom died, and this is like, her aunt? Like an aunt that acts a lot like my mom, because they grew up together, but _isn't_ my mom?"

Punz was staring at Anna with wide eyes. As a few kids passed them in the hall, she steered Anna over to the water fountain and lowered her voice. "Maybe weird. But the situation is weird, so like, I don't think any worse of you for feeling that way. She's not the woman who raised you; I mean, she is, but she's not. Crazy."

"Yeah, pretty crazy."

"Not that _you're_ crazy, or she is. Just the situation. You got that part, right?"

Smiling, Anna caught up her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Yeah. Hear you loud and clear. So you really want to hang out with us again next weekend? Not just say 'hi' to her and then we go do our own thing?"

"Well… I would like to do our own thing. Especially if that means me doing you." The huge grin made Anna dip her head slightly and fight to suppress a giggle. "But maybe we can kinda do what we did this weekend; hang out with her but have time to ourselves in there somewhere."

"I like that plan. And we'll have to figure out what else we can do besides bowling. I mean, stuff that a pushing-fifty mom would be okay doing, so probably not hitting the club."

"We can't even hit the club," she snorted. "Not without wearing the 'I'm a baby' marks on the backs of our hands to keep us from boozing it."

"Would that be so bad?" Anna asked. Punz's smile dropped just a fraction.

"Oh… oh yeah… wow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-"

"But!" Anna interrupted her, just as the first bell rang, "we can still do things like… ice skating and movies and stuff. And clubbing, if that's something you want to do without boozing?"

The sudden mass of students tramping through the hall meant that Punz couldn't answer properly. And besides, Mr Weselton was suddenly very interested in the bubbler and was most definitely not keeping an eye on the two girls standing next to it. One red-haired devil in particular.

Punz didn't seem to notice him, and gave an easy smile instead. Glancing at the toupeéd teacher, Anna cleared her throat. She would have loved to keep chatting, but another detention wasn't worth it.

"I'll see you later?" Anna asked, opening her arms and leaning forward. The hug was completely circumvented when Punz managed to duck her arms and instead plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Sure thing," she said as her feet carried her down the hallway. "I'll see you at lunch!"

A dazed smile on her face, Anna waved her goodbye. She was very nearly late to class. Nearly.

~ o ~

Unfortunately, Anna had a ton of homework that evening, so she skipped hanging out with Punz right away. Ordinarily, she might have blown it off, but she felt like she owed it to this reality's Anna to keep her grades up now. Maybe it was also partly that she had enjoyed so much of her weekend that she didn't want to risk bad karma taking over.

All in all, she was satisfied when she shoved her books back into her bag. Not anything that would win an award but satisfactory for an average student. Therefore, she didn't feel bad that she was watching TV when Elsa got home.

"Oh, there she is," she sighed tiredly as she dropped her purse next to the coat rack, then walked into the kitchen. She looked very well put-together in her grey suit with its pleated skirt, but also like she was ready to not be as soon as possible.

"Here I is." The laugh from the kitchen was weak but at least it was a laugh. "How was your day, dear?"

"It was lovely, husband. Just long." The smirk from their banter was still on her face when she reappeared with a bottle of water. Anna couldn't help saying a silent prayer of thanks that it wasn't bottle of Jack.

"Come sit."

"Can't, I have to get dinner started."

"Nah," she urged, waving her hands at her mother to join her on the couch. "Just a couple minutes. I'm not super hungry."

"You might not be, but I certainly am," Elsa said. Still, she walked over and plonked next to Anna, giving a grateful groan as she kicked off her shoes. Anna grinned.

"How was your day _really__?"_ she asked again. "Full story."

Elsa didn't answer at first – she had just uncapped the bottle and was taking a long swig. The sight was making Anna feel a little thirsty. By the time she finished, half the bottle was gone. Anna didn't give her a chance to re-cap it because she simply plucked it from her mother's hands and began drinking the rest. It seemed to take Elsa a moment to gather herself before she could answer.

"O-oh, you know the drill. Paperwork. Clients." But Anna shook her head.

"I don't. What do you do? Because the other Elsa… didn't do much…"

"You mean, she didn't have a job?" Elsa clarified, and Anna gave a half-hearted shrug.

"Yeah. No job, or life. She didn't really have friends, either. She left the house for a weekly bingo game that she never won, sometimes went to church if she wasn't hung over, and to do the groceries. We had a freezer cabinet so she'd buy a tonne of frozen lasagnes and pizzas and stuff…"

"Ah… well, that's one style of parenting, I suppose." She didn't say whether or not she approved or disapproved of her alternate self's methods. Stretching out her legs with a slight groan, she propped them on the coffee table. "I work in real estate. Some of it's on the phone in the office, but I had a lot of running around today. Showed a couple of places."

"A realtor, huh?" That didn't sound much like the young Elsa she knew, but then again, this one was just as dedicated to her family as her own mother. So it was hardly surprising she kind of 'fell into' a job that suited her, rather than choosing one that was her true passion.

"Right," she groaned slowly, sagging down into the couch. "It pays the bills, and I generally like my coworkers. And my hours can be a little flexible, so it's been great for the family. Some days just feel long, that's all." After a moment, she crossed one leg closer and started rubbing at her foot. "Nhh… how was school? How's Jennifer, how's the band?"

Shrugging, she set the empty bottle down on the coffee table. A private smile blossomed on her face; it was nice for her mom to be taking an interest. Very weird still, but nice. "Not bad. Didn't see the band much, but Punz is looking forward to more Elsa-time."

"That's sweet," she laughed, genuinely amused by the thought. "I'm the Cool Mom, I guess. Weird but a good thing."

"Yeah. Um, I could do that for you."

"Do what?" It took several seconds for Elsa to switch conversational gears and realise what her daughter meant, and she laughed. "Oh, no… don't worry about it, I'll be fine. Just give it a few minutes and the aches will subside."

"It's really no big deal," Anna promised her as she reached to start kneading her thumbs into Elsa's sole.

_"Mmmm__…__"_ Elsa hummed, head falling back and whole body slumping. "Wow that… feels really nice…"

Grinning, Anna didn't bother to respond verbally. Instead, all she did was dig her thumbs in a little harder, untangling the knots that had developed in the tortured appendage.

For a few minutes, the only sound was Elsa's contented sighs as Anna dug into the sole of her foot. Anna had been right – it was no big deal. That very thought seemed to have Elsa relaxing further, simply enjoying the relief. But then Anna began moving her hand up, working into the arch of Elsa's foot. The sound of pleasure she gave was no longer a sigh – it was a moan.

A very familiar-sounding one. Both women paused for a moment, faces red as they stared at one another. And then Anna did it again. The sound Elsa made shot straight to her core, and she almost wanted to cry out herself. She wanted to let Elsa know how it made her feel. But Elsa didn't want to know, so she said nothing. If asked, she could attribute this to not knowing – after all, Elsa wasn't exactly telling her to stop. Quite the contrary, actually.

"Anna!" Elsa gasped, and it was probably supposed to be an admonishment. It wasn't – the way Elsa's voice quivered, holding the vowels and squirming… it really wasn't.

"It's just a foot rub, Mom," Anna said softly. Perhaps the use of her title and not her name helped, because Elsa wasn't as loud for a moment. Or… maybe it was because she was the only one acting in such a way and felt too conspicuous with it pointed out.

As Anna swapped feet, not wanting to focus too much on one side, she reflected for a moment on how much of a difference it made to Elsa when she used her name as opposed to her title. And vice versa, with "Tori". She idly wondered why it mattered so much to her; was she really so hard to distinguish from Tori, the girl of her mother's dreams, the one who got away? Elsa kept saying that they could "get past this" or "get over it" but the more Anna tested her, the more it became apparent that, for Elsa at least, the opposite had been true. And now here she was, on the receiving end of an increasingly-erotic foot massage.

"Ahhh… agahgod." The moans were returning. She pressed in again, her thumb slipping right into the sensitive area under the arch of Elsa's foot. "Ohhhhh, To-"

Elsa sat bolt upright, tearing her foot out of Anna's hands, her face flush and mildly mortified. "Anna!" she said hotly. "I… we… Jennifer!" she mumbled, as if that somehow constituted an objection, an admonishment and a complete sentence.

"You're thinking about Jennifer at a time like this?" Anna quipped, to hide her sinking heart – even if it was still pounding with adrenaline. "Besides, like I said, it's only a massage. Don't get so…"

It wasn't much of a defense. They both knew how it sounded, even though it was supposed to be something purely innocent. But Elsa was already clearing her throat and taking several deep breaths, trying to get herself back under control.

"Alright… alright." Pressing a hand into her face for a moment, she then began to laugh very weakly. "Ohhhh, this is impossible. It's impossible!"

"What's impossible? Oh, here, just… stop…" Frustrated with her own inability to say what she meant, Anna just grabbed for Elsa's foot and began to knead again.

"ANNA! Stop, just… _mmhhh_, it's so good though…"

For a minute, she merely bit her lip and fought down making any further sounds. Anna found herself doing the same; it was really difficult. She had been hoping to prove to both of them that they could handle a simple massage, especially one somewhere as silly as a foot; it wasn't like she was massaging her back while she was nude under a towel! But somehow, her thumbs grinding into her mother's toe joints turned out just as bad. She would have thought it was a ludicrous idea if she wasn't living it at that exact moment.

"Ooh… okay, I think… I'm better," Elsa finally whimpered. By that point, she had fully turned on the couch and was reclining with her feet in Anna's lap. "I'm so sorry… overreacting, I didn't mean…"

"I know," Anna whispered with a slight smile. "Seriously… I totally get it. We're just going to have to get used to stuff like that, right? Like you were saying." Not that she fully believed that, but she was trying her best.

Elsa bit her lip and nodded. "I uh… I should probably get dinner sorted," she finally said, scrambling away. "I better- better go do that…"

Heart falling again briefly, Anna nodded back. She wasn't really hungry anymore, but realised that Elsa needed an out. Watching through the door as her mother fretted about the kitchen, it became startlingly obvious that she needed to… feel like a mother again.

God, what were they doing? And why weren't they doing more? It was fast becoming obvious that what they were doing was not working, and that really only left them with two options: give into their feelings, or see a psychiatrist. And really, only one of those options was even plausible because Elsa completely refused to entertain the thought of the other.

"Mom…" Anna began, softly. Elsa ignored her. "Mom!" she tried again, and Elsa froze for just a second. When she finally looked up, it was with incredible hesitancy.

"Yes, Anna?" Elsa said. Succeeded in not reminding Anna of her 17-year-old counterpart, so that was a plus, she supposed.

Anna couldn't do it. She couldn't demand anything of her mother, not like this. No matter how she felt herself. The timing was not at all right; the poor woman looked so fragile, as if she _needed_ to be domestic right now to keep from drowning in self-flagellation and anxiety. Swallowing, she looked away for a second. "I just… you look really nice. Happy, I mean."

Elsa smiled, small and grateful. "Thank you, Anna," she said, and she obviously meant it. She also seemed happy that Anna hadn't said anything else. Perhaps she knew what was on her daughter's mind. Either way, she didn't mention it. Instead, she brushed straight past it, and the still-lingering awkwardness of earlier. "Now, did you want curry or stroganoff for dinner tonight?"

"Hmm…" Anna hummed, silently still amazed they weren't defrosting a handful of Lean Cuisines. "Stroganoff. Pasta sounds better than rice, I think."

"Stroganoff it is," Elsa agreed. "Now, come and give your poor mother a hand. I can't chop the onions without crying, so I'll need you to take that bullet for me."

There was an easy banter as they prepped the meal, even though the onion fume had them both sobbing into the food – at least until it was cooked. Though all the while, something was slightly different about Elsa's demeanor. She was happy, and cheerful, and joking as she always did. But in between those moments, Anna would catch a sadness in her eyes that had been gone for the past week. Only existing right after they first realised what they were to each other in the present day.

Tori and Elsa. The starcrossed lovers that could never reunite. Anna half still wanted to throw herself at her mother and worry about the consequences later, because she seemed to _need_ her the same way she needed to be domestic a moment ago. But that would go against her wishes. It wasn't easy, but she was trying to respect those as much as she could.

Once they had eaten, Anna worked up the courage to try again. But she decided to approach it differently than the random accusation she had going to fling at her mother. It was unfair, after all, but she couldn't just stay silent.

"So…" Elsa stiffened slightly as she rinsed off the dishes to go into the dishwasher, hands slowing down to a snail's pace. "Um, I'm sorry about earlier. But I think it got to be pretty okay toward the end, right? Like… we worked past the… weirdness?"

"Of course, Anna," she said with a slight smile. "Guess I just have sensitive tootsies. It's no one's fault, really."

Nodding, her daughter took the next stack and began putting them in the dishwasher. "Right. But I liked doing that for you. Making you feel good in a…" She gave a little chuckle. "Well, I was gonna say 'non-sexual way', but maybe a _less_-sexual way? Um, it was…"

"It was," Elsa admitted, eyes going distant as she thought back on it. "I don't know where you learned to do that. Not from me."

"Punz gave me a footrub once. I didn't react to it the way you did, though. But like… I was just kinda guessing. I really did a good job?"

"You really did."

And Anna believed her. Because by now, her mother had taken off her suit jacket, and she could see very vague shapes standing at strong relief on her peaks through the fabric of her blouse.

Had she done it on purpose? Reason told Anna the Elsa hadn't – that she didn't realise exactly what she was giving away. But further examining of her logic said something different. Elsa had to know how her body had reacted. This wasn't something that could simply be blamed on the weather. She wondered how often Elsa thought of Tori. Had she truly reconciled the fact that Tori and Anna were one and the same? Or was she like Anna – knowing they were, but her body reacted as though they were two separate beings. Is that how Elsa had managed to move past the 'I ate out my daughter' guilt?

But… perhaps Elsa _hadn't_ moved past it. A scenario Anna hadn't quite fully envisioned before popped into her head: Elsa knew how her body was reacting, and yet she was ignoring it. Ignoring it because if she didn't… if she acknowledged it… then she would also have to acknowledge that Anna made her feel this way. _Continued_ to make her feel like that, despite now knowing who they were to each other. How strong this reaction proved to be, even after all her work to bury it.

Anna was tired of the games. Tired of dancing around her feelings – of not being able to even admit them – because Elsa didn't want to hear it. She had put up a wall and refused to let anything past it. It wasn't fair. She wanted… she wanted either her mother, as _only_ her mother… or else she wanted Elsa, all of her. The problem was that she kept being given little tastes of what more they could be if they only pushed past the taboo, past their reservations.

The problem was that Elsa would never be just her mother. Not anymore.

* * *

_TO BE CONTINUED…_


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY FROZEN II DEBUT! Enjoy the last chapter for a bit! We promise, you'll have part 3 (the final arc of this continual storyline) soon as we can get it edited properly! Until then, see ya and enjoy the new movie!
> 
> Jessica X and Fruipit

After dinner, they tried to just hang out and be comfortable with each other again, and they did succeed. To a degree. It wasn't completely the same, but at least they could talk and laugh, enjoy each other's company. That was the most important thing.

Still… something was missing, and it couldn't be denied. Anna knew, deep in her heart, that it was the Elsa-Tori component to their relationship. They had tried ignoring it, and it almost worked; they were able to share small moments, talk about their days. And that part was great! But that desire always rose to the surface again at some point.

Elsa might have been older, but this version of her was glamorous and attractive. Anna had never had a 'thing' for older women, either; this was completely new territory. In fact, she didn't develop crushes beyond simply thinking someone was cute on a regular basis. Apparently, it had to be giving her own mother a simple massage that forced her to admit her feelings.

Then there was Punz. How would she feel about this? That she still had these feelings, that they weren't all left behind in the 80s? What a minefield she had stumbled into!

When bedtime came close, she waited for Elsa to announce that she was going. Then Anna followed her into the bedroom. She was silent as she watched Elsa unbutton her shirt. Then, as she was unzipping the side of her skirt, she turned… and saw her there.

"Yes?" she asked as mildly as she could. When Anna only shrugged, she said, "I really don't know if it's very smart for you to stand there while I change."

But Anna didn't reply. After a few seconds, Elsa opened her mouth as if to speak further. But instead, she closed it again and finished unzipping the pencil skirt, letting it drop to around her ankles.

Anna had to swallow a couple of times. Sure, Elsa's body wasn't 17 years old, and there were signs of it. Subtle stretch marks and cellulite was present – perhaps Elsa thought the sight would run Anna off. Make her realise that she was thirty years older and Anna wasn't interested.

If that was her intention, it had the opposite effect.

Talking would have ruined it, Anna felt, so she said nothing as she stepped forward. Elsa had crossed her legs where she stood, and she didn't keep going. Waiting for a reaction. Still, she seemed mildly surprised when Anna bent down to pick the skirt up. Elsa had to move so she was no longer standing in it, and while she kept her eyes trained on her daughter, Anna actually kept hers lowered. She didn't want to see what was on her mother's face. Not yet. So she picked the skirt up and set it on the duchess.

Then, she approached her mother. Before Elsa had a chance to back away further, Anna's nimble fingers were at the hem of her blouse, fingers slowly undoing the bottom buttons. There was a gasp, but no complaint.

When she slid the shirt back and off, Elsa began to whisper, "Listen… Anna, I don't think you realise what-"

"No," Anna whispered, raising a single finger to rest against her lips. Her mother's eyes widened a fraction of an inch. "Not 'Anna' tonight."

"We can't. Please, I don't want…" But Anna was fixing her with a pointed stare. And for the first time since she had arrived in this alternate present, Elsa looked just as scared and confused as the Elsa she had left behind in the past. "Tori, I don't know if I could live with myself afterward. And you know why."

At least she respected Anna's wish. That deserved Anna respecting one of hers in return. "I know. And I get that, but… I don't know if I can handle dancing around it."

_"__W__hat_ dancing?" Her lips quivered, and she raised a hand to cup Anna's cheek… and she felt gooseflesh burst out all over her arms and legs. "I know what I want. But I can't have it. Don't you understand that? We have a hard time resisting this pull, but I can't… I still don't want to hurt my little girl!"

The tears were coming. Trying to head them off, she whispered, "I'm not a little girl anymore. Maybe I'm your daughter, but I'm no child. We are both old enough to know what we want – and we are both crazy about each other. What else matters?"

"Only everything!" As the moisture collected at the corners of her eyes, Elsa chanced a weak little smile. "Crazy about me, huh?"

"Yeah. I don't really get it, either; I mean, I still like Punz just as much as I did before, but you are so…" Her words ran out, so instead she only pressed a hand into the one cupping her cheek, holding it there while she let her eyes fall closed. Basking in this closeness that they could only so rarely enjoy.

"I may have exaggerated how over Tori… over _you_, I was," Elsa admitted, and it was clear to Anna that it had been a struggle for her to say. Still, progress, she thought. "I still want you. But I don't know if I can handle the repercussions."

"I know I could." Anna slipped into a sitting position on the bed, pulling Elsa around to face her, burying her nose in her stomach, planting feather light kisses on her abdomen.

Elsa exhaled sharply, the sheer eroticism of the moment not lost on her. "Wait. Stop." Anna complied, although she looked mildly hurt. "I don't want to do this to you," she started before Anna cut her off.

"Do what, Elsa? I'm an adult, I can make my own decisions and I'm telling you I want this!"

"You want to cheat on Jennifer?" Elsa shot back, a brief flash of anger in her voice. "You want to become some kind of heart breaking monster? With your own mother, is that what you want?"

The guilt hit Anna like a freight train and she felt herself coming apart a little. Elsa pulled her close, the hug turning more platonic as her voice turned gentler again.

"You want to do this, Tori? Lets do it right, or not at all. Heaven knows I'm going to struggle with this madness enough as it is." Elsa stroked Anna's hair as she reflected that never before in her life had getting something she wanted hurt so very, very much.

"Elsa…" She let that much slip. Just enough, the amount needed to show that she still saw her that way. Then she hugged back harder. "Okay. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so pushy… just… wh-when I want you so much…"

She could feel her mother nodding. "You haven't had thirty years to figure out your feelings like I have. Everything's so fresh and new, especially sexuality… I tried to tell you that was the difference. Why I'm trying to navigate this for both of us. Not because it's impossible for you, but because it's… harder without as much experience. That's all."

"I know, Mom. I know. Maybe at first I thought you were kind of… treating me like a kid, and you still kinda are, but I know you're not doing it to be mean! God!"

"Of course not. I love you so much… I never would want to hurt you, even the slightest amount!"

Drawing back, Anna kissed her lips very briefly, and she felt Elsa's shock. But she drew back right after. "You wouldn't be. And if I thought you really don't want to… be with me like that, I'd back off. But between you waking me up like that, and that foot massage… and how good you look right now…"

"I look old," Elsa tried to correct her, cupping her cheek. "And I am. You should be with someone your own age. Even if it wasn't Jennifer, someone a little closer…"

But Anna couldn't focus on the latter part of that. She could only focus on the former. "You think you look 'old'? And that's it, not 'good for your age', or 'DAMN what a hot mom'? Bullshit. You're amazing."

"Anna, that's not… normal," she said, cheeks turning darker. "You shouldn't be attr- _like_ older women. You shouldn't want to be with… me…"

"But I want to!" Anna cried. And yeah she really felt like crying because Elsa was half-naked next to her and she was craving. So. Bad. The peaks of Elsa's nipples still stood out against her chest, though not so much as before. Good. That was for the best. It reminded Anna of that moment on Doc's couch, testing the waters with Elsa. Testing herself, too.

She knew how upset Punz would be about this development. And it wasn't one of those 'too-late-to-turn-back-now' kinds of things. They absolutely could recover from this; choices were involved. Deliberate choices.

Closing her eyes, Anna surged forward, pressing her lips solidly against Elsa's. They stayed there, kneading softly, before she backed away. Swallowing her tears, she stood from the bed. Elsa looked exactly how she felt: flushed, aroused. Sad. But she at least still managed a soft smile, gentle even though it didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I think… it's time for bed, Anna."

"I'm sorry, Mom… I'm really, _really_ sorry."

"Goodnight," she croaked. Anna just nodded and retreated to her room.

It took a very long time to fall asleep that night.

~ o ~

The next few days were awkward. Anna hadn't had a chance to talk to Punz, and each moment that passed just made it hard to bring up what was on her mind. Jennifer, bless her soul, didn't pry, even though she knew something was up.

And Anna didn't push her mother any further. The morning after, she woke up horrified to remember how forward she was. With all they had discussed before that! She knew that she was right about how strong their attraction was, but at the same time… Elsa was right, too. They couldn't be together. No one would ever accept a mother and daughter dating; not a biological pair like they were. Between that and the part where they also still wanted that mother-daughter relationship at the same time, it was a huge problem all around. Telling herself that didn't help as much as it should, though.

Finally, she did break down and tell Jennifer on their way home from school Thursday. And she was upset, and did try to reprimand Anna a few times, but with all the sobbing Anna was doing she eventually gave it up as useless. Not to mention adding insult to injury.

"Guess it was too much to hope that you could just say 'the past is in the past' and the feelings would go away," she finally whispered into Anna's hair after twenty minutes of gross feelings being expunged.

"I'm sorry!" she growled into Punz's jacket lapel. "I tried, I really did, I thought I could do it, but she's just… I can't forget, I can't!"

Hands caressed up and down her back for a few seconds. "You don't have to forget. You just have to move on. That is possible, you know. So… maybe it's time to really think about… seeing someone. Professionally."

Anna nodded pathetically. "I know," she said softly. "It's… been mentioned…"

Punz made a soft noise, her hands gently scratching through Anna's hair. She was silent for a moment, but at least this silence wasn't judgmental at all. When finally she did speak, it was to say something so entirely unexpected that, had Anna still been crying, it would have been enough to shut her up.

"What if… we went to see Doc Pabbie?"

"Um…" Anna began as she stared at her. The idea was so ludicrous that at first she had no idea what to say. "Punz…you know he's not like… _that_ kind of doctor, don't you?"

Punz nodded, a quick jerky movement that had her looking more excited than anything. "I know, but he's a genius!" she said, leaning back enough so she could see Anna proper. "He's got a time machine. He's probably been to the future! Why don't we just ask him for some… y'know… help?"

"Well…" Anna didn't know what to follow that up with. "Well, I… guess it couldn't hurt. But I still don't know what you think he could do for us."

"Has to be better than feeling like a weird mother-lover all the time." Patting her knee, she nodded at the steering wheel. "Come on. Let's go see what he has to say."

~ o ~

"Great Scott."

Sighing, Anna flopped back into the couch. That had been about what she expected from him: a muttered oath of surprise and no true answers. "Yeah."

"Hmm. For some reason, I had not suspected it would continue to grow more wildly out of control in such a fashion, especially once you had been returned to your original time period… but apparently, this inexorable pull of yours can't be held back with a few choice words."

"It's kind of freaking me out by this point. Like, we both have been actually trying to just be… family, and then this. And I do love Punz!" Here, she picked up Jennifer's hand and squeezed it, and got a squeeze in return. Not an enthusiastic one, but she was there, being supportive. It counted for a lot. "So… is there anything you know from the future that could help me figure this out?"

"Oh, no no no, my dear girl," he said with a nervous chuckle as he went back to sketching something on his writing desk. It was some kind of design that looked like a train, but Anna was too preoccupied to take a closer look. "No relevant information to mother-daughter relations, I'm afraid."

Jennifer leaned in a little. "What about something to block unwanted thoughts? Like, for both of them. Some kind of future technology?"

Again, he shook his head. "Do you know the side effects should anyone uncover future technology here?" he asked. "It would be disastrous!" When both Anna and Punz just cocked an eyebrow and looked at the DeLorean, he relented. "Well, fine, it does exist. It was ruled unconscionable by the International Human Rights Services – very dangerous, and it could permanently hinder your ability to learn new information. Imagine being stuck with only your current knowledge from 2015 and before _for the rest of your lives!_ Sorry girls, you're going to have to do this the hard way."

Anna could have cried. Why was this so impossible? She felt Punz squeeze her hand again, this one far more sympathetic than before. Looked like a ridgy-didge mind-doctor was the only way to go. Surely the confidentiality clause meant they wouldn't go to the cops for incestuous liaisons – or time travel. Hopefully they also wouldn't share stories at yearly Shrink Festivals or anything like that, either.

"Also, tell your mother the same thing. She's likely forgotten if she didn't tell you."

Wait, what? Anna turned to Punz, only to find her girlfriend already looking at her. Okay, so she didn't misunderstand that.

"Doctor Pabbie…" Punz hedged, "Are you… are you saying that Mrs McFly has come to see you?"

He just looked at the two of them. "Why, of course she has! Where else would she have gone when she realised?"

"Literally anywhere else but here!" Anna cried. "What did she want?"

Suddenly, for the very first time since she'd met him, Doc looked quite unsure of himself. "I think… perhaps… you should talk to your mother…"

"That's not very easy right now, Doc! Haven't you been listening? I'm going out of my head here, I…"

"Talk to her. Just… sit down, keep your hands, feet, and objects to yourselves, and speak to each other with unflinching honesty. There's always a way forward if you keep looking for it. Do you know who taught me that?"

Sighing, she rubbed her forehead, not ready for some history lesson. "Who?"

"You."

"HUH?"

Gesturing to his desk, he smiled over at her. "Coming to me from the future, telling me that my efforts would pay off? It gave me a glimpse of a brighter path. Evidently, one that I didn't need or I would never have invented the time machine in the first place, which would cause a chain reac-"

"Yeah, yeah, paradox thing." Then she allowed herself a slight smile. "Some good things did come out of me fucking everything up, I guess."

"You didn't ruin the future, Anna. Don't worry."

As she got up and Punz went along with her, she paused by the door to look over her shoulder. The old man looked like he had a thousand things on his mind. "You know… even though I had to go back in time and hit on Elsa to get the mother I always wanted, weirdness or no weirdness… I didn't have to do that to find a good dad." And that was as direct as she felt like she could be with him.

~ o ~

Punz offered to stick around for the talk, but Anna wouldn't hear of it. This wasn't her fight, and it wasn't the kind of potential ugliness she wanted her girlfriend to have to deal with. Not when the whole reason behind it rested squarely on her own shoulders. So they left each other on the front doorstop, Punz giving Anna a sound, yet chaste, kiss on her lips.

"Good luck," she whispered. Anna appreciated the sentiment more than she could say. So, she simply offered a smile, and hung about on the step until Punz had returned to her car and driven out of sight. She needed the extra time to mentally prepare herself, anyway.

Time for some answers, she supposed. Taking a breath, she unlocked the door and stepped through.

"Mom…?"

No answer. A quick glance at her phone told Anna that it was peak 'mom should be home' time, so where was she? Great, all of Anna's mental preparation, wasted.

Sighing, she stepped into the kitchen. Pulling the milk from the fridge, she didn't bother to grab a glass, instead uncapping the bottle and drinking straight from it. All the while, she was thinking, running a list through her mind of all the places Elsa might be. It was entirely possible that she jumped right on ahead and found a shrink. Especially after the previous night. But even if she had, and if she wanted Anna to go – either individually or together – Doc's words still rang in her ears.

Honesty. Perhaps it was a good thing that Elsa wasn't here because she still needed to get her thoughts in order. She needed to be honest with Elsa. Truthful. Even if… even if the truth was painful and her mother didn't want to hear it, she had to.

But Elsa never returned that night. Anna tried to busy herself, actually cleaning up her room, doing homework. Puttering. But never did her mother poke her head back in.

Someone else did, however…

"Hey, girls!" Kristoff called out when he got in the door. "Sorry I didn't wait, honey, but you didn't reply to my text so I just got an Uber. Anybody home?"

"DAD!" Anna called out, flying at him from the living room. He dropped his shoulderbag and quickly caught her up in a hug, one that threatened to melt away all of her unease. It didn't quite accomplish that, but it made a good attempt.

"Booger!" He pet over her hair and back for a moment, but when she didn't let go, he drew concerned and pushed her backward slightly. "Hey, hey… what's the matter?"

"Mom's gone! I don't know… she won't answer her phone, and I think I really fucked up!"

Frowning at her, she could really see the lines in his face now, slight as they were compared with the ones of her old father. Again, this was more like the Kristoff she had met in the 80s, only aged a bit, instead of the totally different person her old father had been.

"What's wrong?"

She told him. Over the course of an hour, she told her father everything, and he listened with far more patience than anyone else would have, sitting with her and eventually giving her a beer from the fridge.

"But I'm not old enough," she blubbered.

"I won't tell if you won't. Besides, I think this counts as a special emergency." Twisting off the cap, he set it down in front of her then plopped down at the kitchen table. "I'm so sorry, honey… I thought the best plan was to continue my tour and give you two time to do… whatever it was you would do. Should have known Elsa wouldn't be able to let go of her hangups that easily."

"You don't care that your daughter wants to bang your wife?"

"Of course I care. Like with that beer, this isn't the average situation; time travel is involved. You two met when you were both the same age, and both more or less strangers to each other. Even if you knew who Elsa was, you didn't know her the way you knew her in the present day, right?"

Anna was stunned. How did he understand everything so well? "I… what… y-yeah, that's it. That's it exactly. And my old present-mom was way different from this present-mom, too. This one's just the one from back then grown up. The mom I lost… she was a whole other person. _That's_ Mom, and this is Elsa."

"Right. So even though it does make me a little uneasy, not nearly as much as if it were Wendy, or another family member who never time travelled. You just have to think about these things fourth-dimensionally; strange attractors theories. Imagining that you exchanged your actual mother for an alternate reality version really takes away from the yuck factor. Almost could write a story about it, if it wouldn't bring too much light on our family."

"Guess I forgot what you do for a living," she laughed weakly. His chuckle was a lot heartier, and he reached over to clap her on the shoulder. "So… do you think maybe Mom checked into a hotel or something? Just to get away from the situation?"

"Probably all it is, Anna." With a shrug, he took the beer from her once he saw she wasn't going to touch it and took a swig. "But I've been able to tell that she wasn't over you as much as she thought. There were plenty of signs along the way. Just… wouldn't have done much good to take that security blanket away from her, when all she would do is fight with me about that."

"You two still fight, huh?"

"Only about that. And financial things, but those are more like 'stern discussions'." Anna smiled slightly. "Nothing major, and we try to never go to bed angry. Hash it out first and get to a solution."

"Okay, good. So…" Stretching, she stood up and rubbed her face. "I… want to try to go find Mom, but I also don't want to crowd her. Should I wait until tomorrow?"

Her father nodded, setting the bottle down. "Probably for the best. Considering how clear you made your feelings, I'd say time to think it over is a bare minimum."

"Thanks, Dad. I… I think I'll just…" She had been about to say 'go to my room', but thought better of it. "Do you want some help unpacking?"

His smile was a lot wider than she would have expected. "Sure, kiddo. We have plenty of time."

~ o ~

So they did. And he spent the rest of the night hanging out with his daughter, getting to know her a little better. It was a completely different experience from getting to know Elsa again, since Kristoff really was just a father to her. The love was actually not all that different from her old father, who had always clearly been able to show it, even if mostly just with words rather than actions since he had been too spineless to discipline her, or do much of anything else.

But Anna couldn't stop thinking about her mother the entire time. Wanting to be with her, even if she turned down her advances. She tried to be satisfied with her father, and Wendy and John when they got home, and texting Jennifer to keep her informed. But beneath those surface comforts, all she wanted was her mommy.

Elsa didn't return that night. Nor did she return the next morning. Eventually, Anna did go to school with Punz, but she really began to worry. Where the hell was she?

Or perhaps the question she should have asked…

_When_ the hell was she?

* * *

_NOT THE END!_

_TO BE **CONCLUDED**… IN PART III_


End file.
